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AN 


ELEMENTARY CIVICS 

FOR THE 

SCHOOLS OF ILLINOIS 


BY 

JOHN W. DAVIS 

District Superintendent, Public Schools, New York City 
Author of u Four New York Boys,” 11 Young America's Manual,” etc. 

AND 

CHARLES STEWART, LL.B. 

Member of the Bar, State of New York 


REVISED EDITION 


EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING COMPANY 
BOSTON 

New York Chicago San Francisco 




<r \< 1 5 1 
.Ha. 5 1 
l<* 13 


Copyright, 1906, 1907 

By EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING COMPANY 


Revised Edition, Copyright, 1913 
By EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING COMPANY 



l ;• 


i a 




FOREWORD 

The study of the National Government is in no wise complete without 
a proportional study of State and Local Government, since these are 
after all but a part of the general system of National Government. 
State and Local Government are as rich in detail as National Govern¬ 
ment is; and it is this fact that renders it a difficult matter to write a 
text-book on State and Local Government presenting the essential facts, 
conditions, and principles without making it too cumbrous. It is the 
object of this text-book to place the study of State and Local Govern¬ 
ment in its proper rank by a more extensive discussion than is usually 
accorded to this department of civics, but at the same time an endeavor 
has been made to confine these discussions within moderate compass. 

With each session of the General Assembly there is a change in many 
of the small details of State Government. Some of these changes, al¬ 
though small, are important, others have little effect and are of little 
value to the student of Illinois civics. It has been the author’s aim to 
emphasize those features of Local and State Government which are most 
permanent and essential. 

To the well-trained, energetic teacher no text-book is sufficient in 
itself. Such teacher will look about for additional material out of which 
to create a greater interest. Biography plays such an important part 
in the teaching of either history or government that the conscientious 
teacher will insist upon much outside work in that line from the student. 
Government is decidedly a study of men in action. Therefore, the 
teacher of government realizes the value of the study of biography as a 
means of enriching the subject and of creating a lively interest in class 
work. 

Too much emphasis can scarcely be laid upon the use of material 
illustrations. Local officers of the town and township ought to be 
pointed out. The official work each has to do ought to be mentioned. 
The police force, the fire department, the mail carrier, the truant officer 
are all acquaintances of the children in school. Their part in the govern¬ 
ment cf the state and nation may be made topics of great interest. The 
county court-house, containing the county offices, is not far away; 
primary elections and local conventions are held in every precinct; dis¬ 
trict court is held at the county seat; a state institution may be near 
enough for the teacher and the class to visit; or they may visit the 
State Capitol at Springfield. These outside matters, so difficult to 
include in a text, may be so correlated with the daily class exercises as 
to result in great benefit to the student. 





I. 

CONTENTS 

Government in the American Colonies 

7 

II. 

The House of Representatives, or Lower House 



of Congress. 

. 19 

III. 

The Senate, or Upper House of the Congress of fehe 



United States. 

27 

IV. 

Election, Powers, Duties, Privileges and Disabilities 



of Senators and Representatives 

. 32 

V. 

Mode of Passing Laws . 

39 

VI. 

Powers of Congress . 

. 43 

VII. 

Powers Denied Congress. 

58 

VIII. 

Powers Denied the States .... 

. 63 

IX. 

The President. 

66 

X. 

The Courts or Judicial Department 

. 82 

XI. 

Duties of the United States to the States, and 



Duties of Each State to the Other States 

. 93 

XII. 

The Amendments. 

104 

XIII. 

The Government of Illinois .... 

. 123 


The Constitution of the State of Illinois. 

185 


Articles of Confederation .... 

. 258 


Naturalization. 

272 


Glossary ........ 

i 


Index . 

IX 


5 



A CIVICS 

FOR 

ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. 


CHAPTER I. 

GOVERNMENT IN THE AMERICAN COLONIES. 

Formation and Growth of Government. — The chief 
cause that led the colonists from England to leave their 
native land and seek homes in a new and unsettled coun¬ 
try was dissatisfaction with the home government. 

If we trace the formation and growth of the governments 
established by these people in the new country—growth 
which finally resulted in the Government of the United 
States under the Constitution — we shall have a fair under¬ 
standing of the principles of our present government. We 
shall also learn that a government is not the product of the 
brain of one man or of the deliberation of a group of men; 
on the contrary it is a gradual growth, resulting from a long 
series of events. 

Early Colonial Governments. — Let us glance at some 
of the early governments of the colonies and note briefly 
their weak points, which subsequently had to be modified, 
at the same time learning the results of the change. 

7 



8 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


It will be remembered that the first settlers of Massa¬ 
chusetts limited the privilege of voting to church members, 
thus making religion a test of citizenship. In Virginia, 
the early governors were appointed by the Crown, and, 
with the exception of John Smith, were weak and corrupt. 
In Georgia, the last of the colonies settled, the whole 
government at first was in the hands of a few of the 
wealthier people, the common people having no vote what¬ 
ever. 

In New Jersey, after 1702, the governor and the council 
were appointed by the king. The assembly only was 
elected by the people — and these men held office for an 
indefinite time. The laws passed by the assembly and the 
council were of no avail if the governor failed to sign them ; 
and even after he had approved them, the king could refuse 
to sanction them. This refusal by a governor to sign bills 
passed by a law-making body is called a veto (I forbid). 
The courts in New Jersey were established by the governor 
and the council, and the decision of these courts could be 
sent to England for final decision. A member of the 
elected assembly was required to have a certain amount of 
property, and a voter was also required to possess property. 

The Three Functions of Government. — From this 
simple outline of the government of New Jersey we 
observe that there are three parts or functions of govern¬ 
ment: first, the body of men who make the laws, these 
being called the legislature ; second, the governor or exec¬ 
utive, who executes or enforces the laws; third, the 
courts, who interpret or tell the meaning of the law. 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


9 


These three parts or functions are necessary to complete 
any good government. If the legislature should pass a law 
making cruelty to children a crime the governor would 
execute the law through an officer, who would arrest the 
person charged with cruelty, and the courts would decide 
whether the law had been violated, by fully interpreting it 
as to this particular case. 

The Connecticut Charter.— Most of the colonies had 
a form of government more or less like this one of New 
Jersey at some period of their colonial existence. The 
Colony of Connecticut, however, had a more liberal set of 
laws. This was a direct result of the oppressive nature 
of the Massachusetts laws. People from Massachusetts 
emigrated to Connecticut in 1635, because they were dis¬ 
satisfied with the church qualification for voting. They 
drew up a set of laws which permitted the people to 
elect the governor and members of the senate and the 
assembly. The members of the senate were the same 
as members of the council in other states. The legisla¬ 
ture organized the courts, and the governor saw that 
the laws were enforced. This original set of laws was 
substantially approved in the form of a charter by the 
king and was more liberal than the charter of any other 
colony. 

Having left England because of oppressive laws, the 
colonists were continually on the outlook to maintain the 
rights they had obtained and for which they had made so 
many sacrifices. England, however, did not always respect 
the wishes of the colonists. 


10 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


Unjust Acts of Parliament. — The English Parlia¬ 
ment passed many laws affecting the American colonists 
without consulting or considering the legislative bodies of 
the colonies. Some of these laws were very oppressive, as 
the Stamp Act, which was intended to raise money from 
the colonists, but gave them no voice in spending the 
money so obtained. The Quartering Act obliged the col¬ 
onists to support soldiers in a manner subversive of indi¬ 
vidual rights. 

One of the most remarkable sets of laws passed by Parlia¬ 
ment is known as the Navigation Acts. These Acts were 
remarkable in that they took from the colonists, in the im¬ 
portant matter of commerce, all three functions of govern¬ 
ment— the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. 

England Usurps Functions of Government.—In 

passing these Acts, Parliament deprived the colonists of 
some of their legislative rights, by limiting the right to 
ship American products in English vessels only, and for¬ 
bidding the colonists to bring goods into America except 
through England, thus giving English merchants an un¬ 
necessary profit on the merchandise. 

In enforcing these obnoxious laws, England usurped the 
executive function of the colonists, by having the American 
coasts patrolled by her warships and arresting people who 
imported goods in violation of the navigation laws. She 
then tried the people thus captured in her own admiralty 
courts, thus taking away the judicial function from the 
colonists. 

People who were courageous enough to make homes in a 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS H 

*■ 

wilderness would not be long imposed upon by laws like 
these without making a struggle. 

War for Independence Shows Necessity of Union. 
— The struggle which ensued we know as the American 
Revolution or War for Independence. The experience 
gained from these English laws, largely aided the future 
American nation in forming their own government. This 
will be made manifest as we proceed, if we note the care 
the people used in avoiding the obnoxious features of the 
colonial system, at the same time taking into their govern¬ 
ment what was good in the system of laws in England, 
despite their differences with the mother country. Much 
of the judicial function of our country to-day is founded on 
that part of the English system, known as the Common 
Law of England. The Common Law in great part is made 
up of the early customs of the people in their intercourse 
with one another. When the clash came between the 
people and the executive power of England in the form of 
the British Army, it was immediately appreciated by the 
colonists that some sort of union was necessary; and to 
govern a union some set of laws must be recognized by 
those who form it. 

Shall the Union be Strong or Weak? —An army 
and a navy had to be organized. These must be fed 
and cared for. To do this required money. Without 
united effort on the part of the colonies these results were 
impossible. During the war the idea of union did not go 
much beyond what was needed to accomplish these results. 
While some of the wisest of the statesmen of that period 


12 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


strove for a strong, united government, the colonies were 
jealous of one another, and were competitors and oppo¬ 
nents in everything except opposition to the common 
enemy — England. 

The remark of the statesman, Patrick Henry, of Virginia, 
"I am not a Virginian but an American,” shows the senti¬ 
ment of but few of the people at that time. 

In 1778, the French minister, Gerard, wrote to France, 
"The States of the South and of the North, under existing 
subjects of estrangement and division, are two distinct 
parties.” This expresses the condition of mind of the 
people at large concerning close union. 

First Continental Congress.— In 1774, an effort was 
made by the colonists, in a Congress held at Philadelphia, 
to obtain from England their rights. This Congress con¬ 
sisted of delegates from all the colonies except Georgia. 
It met September 5, 1774, resolved that obedience was 
not due to any of the recent acts of Parliament, and 
adjourned to May 10, 1775. When it assembled on 
that date at Philadelphia, hostilities had commenced. 
"The shot heard round the world” had been fired at 
Lexington. 

This Congress, without any express authority from the 
colonists, carried on the war, borrowed money, made 
treaties with foreign governments, and, in fact, assumed 
all three functions of government— legislative, executive, 
and judicial — till the adoption of the Articles of Confeder¬ 
ation by all the States, in the year 1781, made the League 
of States. 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


13 


Articles of Confederation. — The members of the 
Continental Congress, as early as 1776, felt that some 
form of united government should be adopted by the 
states; but it was not until 1781 that the states could be 
induced to consent to placing any of their powers as inde¬ 
pendent governments in the hands of a central government. 

And when this form of government was finally assented 
to by the adoption of the Articles of Confederation, it was 
no improvement upon the old method of government by 
the Continental Congress, which body worked without any 
written agreement of the states. 

The requests of the Congress to the states for men and 
money were granted or not, as the states saw fit. During 
the war, the states, inspired by patriotism, put forth their 
utmost efforts in aiding Congress, as their agent, to expel 
the common enemy. When tlie war was practically ended 
by the surrender at Yorktown, the states, not being held 
together for mutual protection from invasion, resumed 
their old jealousies; and it will be readily understood 
that a strong set of laws was necessary to hold them 
together. 

Weakness of the Articles of Confederation ; Mu¬ 
tiny.— A glance at the history of this period will show 
whether or not the Articles of Confederation were satisfac¬ 
tory. The fatal defect of the Articles was that from them 
was omitted entirely the executive governmental function. 
On June 2, 1783, a few soldiers of the Continental army 
drove the whole Congress from Philadelphia to Princeton. 
There being no executive authority to act, the members o i 


14 


CIVICS FOlt ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


Congress were obliged to flee for their lives from a small 

© © 

band of mutinous soldiers. 

Rebellion; Interstate War. — A rebellion broke out 
in Massachusetts, in 1786, under Daniel Shays, and Con¬ 
gress had no power to put it down. Pennsylvania drove a 
number of Connecticut settlers in the Wyoming Valley 
into the woods to starve; and at one time war was 
threatened between these two states. During this period. 
New York sent troops to the New Hampshire boundary 
to settle a dispute concerning territory, and Congress, 
lacking the executive function, was powerless to act. 

No Taxing Power. — Another omission in the Articles 
was that of the power to tax, and without this power 
Congress could raise no money. Its only resource was to 
ask the states for money, and the states often neglected to 
give their respective shares. 

In the treaty which was signed at the conclusion of the 
Revolutionary War, the United States agreed to pay cer¬ 
tain debts to British subjects; but having no money, nor 
power to raise it, they could not meet their obligations. 
England, using this as an excuse, refused to give up many 
of the western fortifications, and part of our territory was 
still occupied by a foreign nation. 

No Power to Regulate Trade. — The Congress had 
no power to regulate trade between the states, and this 
resulted in confusion. New York State placed a tax on 
firewood from Connecticut, and on farm produce from 
New Jersey, forcing the farmers to pay duties on the 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


15 


chickens, pigs, and garden produce they brought to New 
York City. New Jersey retaliated by taxing a lighthouse 
$1,800 a year, which New York State had built on New 
Jersey soil. This lighthouse was necessary for the safe 
entrance of vessels into New York harbor. 

No Permanent Judiciary. — There was no provision 
in the Articles for a permanent court, thus omitting the 
judicial function of government. 

No Power to Make Treaties. — Foreign nations would 
make no treaties with the United States, as there was no 
power to enforce the treaties ; and, as was aptly said by 
European nations, they did not know, when they were 
dealing with our representatives, whether they were deal¬ 
ing with one nation or with thirteen states. 

The people could not help but observe the weakness of 
the government at that time, as it was unable to protect 
the people at home, and was held in contempt by the 
nations abroad. These being the conditions, Congress, in 
1787, urged the states to hold a representative convention 
"for the sole and express purpose of revising the Articles 
of Confederation.” 

Constitutional Convention. — When delegates to this 
convention assembled in May, 1787, they came to the con¬ 
clusion that no amendments or alterations which they could 
make to the Articles of Confederation would give a good 
government. 

These delegates saw, as we have seen, that two of the 
three functions of government were entirely wanting in the 


16 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


Articles, and they concluded that it would be preferable to 
draw.up a new set of laws embodying all three functions of 
government than to try to add so many new features 
to Articles already tried and found wanting. 

The Convention pursued its deliberations behind closed 
doors, free from the influence of popular clamor, and 
finished its work September 17, 1787. The result of these 
careful deliberations is the Constitution of the United 
States. This was sent to the Continental Congress then 
sitting in New York City ; the Continental Congress trans¬ 
mitted copies to the several states for their ratification. 

Ratification of the Constitution. — During the next 
few months conventions met in most of the States for the 
purpose of ratifying the Constitution, and by July 26, 1788, 
all the States, except North Carolina and Rhode Island, 
had ratified it. 

These two States came into the Union later: North 
Carolina on November 21, 1789, and Rhode Island on 
May 29, 1790. 

The Convention set forth very concisely in the following 
preamble the reasons for establishing the Constitution : 

"We, the People of the United States, in order to 
form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure 
domestic tranquillity, provide fpr the common de¬ 
fense, promote the general welfare, and secure the 
blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, 
do ordain and establish this Constitution for the 
United States of America.” 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


17 


Perfect Union and Justice. — The wise men who met 

at Philadelphia, understood the necessity of a "more per¬ 
fect union” because foreign nations had refused to make 
treaties with us until we were united; hence these words 
in the preamble. Under the old Articles the judicial 
function of government was practically omitted, and the 
delegates, therefore, learned from this weakness that they 
must " establish justice ” by providing a system of courts. 

Domestic Tranquillity.— The strife between Pennsyl¬ 
vania and Connecticut, the troubles on the New York 
State boundary, and Shays’ Rebellion most emphatically 
warned them to do something " to insure domestic tran¬ 
quillity.” 

Common Defense. — The fact that English troops still 
occupied some of our western forts was a notice to them 
"to provide for the common defense.” 

General Welfare. — The power exercised by the 
several states of putting duties on the products of sister 
states, and the ensuing quarrels among themselves, did not 
"promote the general welfare.” This also was to be an 
aim of the convention in its work. 

Security of Liberty. — The people appreciated that 
they had wrested liberty from England, but under the 
Articles there was very little prospect of their keeping it. 
The grand purpose of the convention is summed up in 
the words, "secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and 
our posterity.” 

The Constitution has been in force for more than one 


18 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


hundred years. Acting under it as a set of laws for its 
regulation, the United States Government has taken its 
place among the nations of the earth, and has carried out 
during these years all the functions of an independent 
government. 

It has made treaties with foreign countries, it has carried 
on wars, established lighthouses, protected its coasts, con¬ 
structed public works and buildings, provided a post-office, 
fixed a sound money currency, and has performed all the 
duties of a great and strong government. 

If then, we examine the effects of this Consitution on the 
history of the government, as the lapse of years tells the 
story, we shall have not only a knowledge of our own gov¬ 
ernment, but a knowledge of the general principles of 
government; for all good governments are founded on the 
same general principles. 


QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER I 


1. What was the chief cause that led the colonists from England? 

2 . How may we get a fair understanding of the principles of our present 
government ? 

3 . The first settlers of Massachusetts limited the privilege of voting to 
whom ? 

4 . How were early governors of Virginia appointed? 

5 . What was the first government of the colony of Georgia? 

6 . What form of government obtained in the colony of New Jersey 
after 1702 ? 

7 . What is a veto ? 

8 . Were the decisions of the Colonial New Jersey Courts final? 

9 . Was a property qualification required of the colonial New Jersey 
voter, of a member of the Assembly? 

10 . What are the three functions of government ? Illustrate. 

11 . Explain the Connecticut charter. 

12 . What was the Stamp Act? 

13 . What was the Quartering Act? 

14 . What were the Navigation Acts? 

15 . How did England usurp the functions of government in these Acts? 

16 . How .is the common law of England made up in great part? 

17 . Were the colonies united? 

18 . When was the first Continental Congress held? 

19 . What resolution did it adopt? 

20 . To what date did it adjourn ? 

21 . What had happened between the two meetings? 

22 . What did this Congress do? 

23 . When were the Articles of Confederation adopted? 

24 . Were the Articles of Confederation any improvement upon the 
government by the Continental Congress? Why? 

25 . Were the requests of the Continental Congress to the States for 
men and money always granted ? 


26 . After the surrender at Yorktown, what attitude did the States 
assume toward one another? 

27 . What was the fatal defect of the Articles of Confederation? 

28 . What happened on June 2 , 1783 ? 

29 . When did Shay’s Rebellion occur? Did Congress have power to 
put it down ? 

30 . What did Pennsylvania do to a number of Connecticut settlers ? 

31 . What did New York do regarding New Hampshire? 

32 . Did the Articles of Confederation authorize Congress to tax the 
States ? 

33 . On account of this omission, state the unpleasant position the United 
States was placed in by the treaty between it and Great Britain at the clos^ 
of the Revolutionary War? 

34 . Did the Articles give Congress the power to regulate trade ? 

35 . Did the Articles provide for a permanent judiciary? 

36 . Did the Articles give Congress the power to make treaties? 

37 . What did Congress urge in 1787 ? 

38 . What conclusion did the delegates to the Constitutional Conven¬ 
tion come to regarding the Articles of Confederation? Why? 

39 . When did the Constitutional Convention finish its work? 

40 . When was the Constitution ratified? 

41 . Give the preamble to the Constitution? 

42 . What do you understand by “more perfect union?” 

43 . What do you understand by the phrase “to establish justice?” 

44 . Why were the words “domestic tranquillity” put into the preamble ? 

45 . State the reason for putting the words “common defense” into the 
preamble. 

46 . Why were the words “general welfare” put in? 

47 . The grand purpose of the Convention is summed up in what 
words ? 

48 . Under the Constitution what has the United States government 
done? 

49 . By examining the effect of this Constitution on the history of the 
government we shall have a knowledge of what ? 


CHAPTER II. 


THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, OR LOWER HOUSE 
OF CONGRESS. 

Each state in the Union has a constitution similar to the 
United States Constitution, and counties and towns, in 
their governments, have the foundation principles that may 
be discovered here. 

The Convention divided the government into three de¬ 
partments or functions — the legislative, the executive and 
the judicial — and carefully described each department by 
laying down in detail how the department is to be made 
up, what its duties are, and the qualifications of the per¬ 
sons in each department. 

As laws must be made before they can be either executed 
or judged, the first Article of the Constitution deals with 
the legislative function. We will examine this Article to 
discover how the people avoided the errors of the old gov¬ 
ernment, and also to learn how the Article has worked as a 
law in actual practice. 

Article I 

Section 1. w All legislative powers herein granted 
shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, 
which shall consist of a Senate and House of Rep¬ 
resentatives.” 

By " powers herein granted ” the Constitution refers to 

19 


20 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


powers given to the United States by the states. For in¬ 
stance, one of the powers so granted is that of declaring 
war. This power which we see is vested in Congress 
was exercised by Congress when in 1812 it declared war 
with England and in 1898, when war was declared against 
Spain. 

Section 2. 1. "The House of Representatives 

shall be composed of members chosen every second 
year by the people of the several States, and the 
elector in each State shall have the qualifications 
requisite for electors of the most numerous branch 
of the State Legislature.” 

The members of the House of Representatives are the 
only officials of the United States elected directly by the 
people, the term of office being two years. 

Qualifications of Voters.—The qualifications of the 
electors, or voters, may differ in different states, according 
to the qualifications of the voters for the most numerous 
branch of the legislature in the different states. Each of 
the states has a legislative body similar to Congress, one 
branch bein^ more numerous than the other. 

We may observe how the qualifications of voters differ 
in different states by noting that in Massachusetts voters 
are required to read, in Georgia persons otherwise qualified 
are excluded from voting if their taxes are not paid. In 
some states citizens only are allowed to vote, while in 
others a person declaring his intention to become a citizen 
is allowed to vote. In all states, however, residence for 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


21 


a certain time is required. Attention is here called to the 
distinction between a citizen and a voter: The state 
determines the qualifications of a voter, and we shall learn 
in a subsequent clause of the Constitution that the United 
States determines the qualification of citizenship. It is 
well that this is so, as the United States is bound to 
protect its citizens at home and abroad, and, therefore, 
should have the sole right of defining citizenship. 

Section 2. Clause 2. "No person shall be a 
Representative who shall not have attained to the 
age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a 
citizen of the United States, and who shall not, 
when elected, be an inhabitant of that State in which 
he shall be chosen.” 

As each Representative has one vote, the reason why he 
should be an inhabitant of the state that sent him to the 
Congress is evident; as, living in the state, he would 
represent its people better than a non-resident who would 
be ignorant of its wants. 

Clause 3. "Representatives and direct taxes shall 
be apportioned among the several States which may 
be included within this Union, according to their 
respective numbers, which shall be determined by 
adding to the whole number of free persons, includ¬ 
ing those bound to service for a term of years, and 
excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all other 
persons. The actual enumeration shall be made 


22 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


within three years after the first meeting of the 
Congress of the United States, and within every 
subsequent term of ten years, in such manner as 
they shall by law direct. The number of Repre¬ 
sentatives shall not exceed one for every thirty 
thousand, but each state shall at least have one 
Representative; and, until such enumeration shall 
be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be en¬ 
titled to choose three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode 
Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut 
five, New York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania 
eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, 
North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and 
Georgia three.” 

The Census. — This enumerating, or counting, of the 
people is called the census. The first census was taken in 
1790, and a census has been taken every ten years since. 
As a result of the first enumeration, the House of Repre¬ 
sentatives, from 1793 to 1803, consisted of 105 members, 
allowing one for every thirty-three thousand. 

Number of Representatives in the Lower House.— 
Congress has lowered this ratio of representation at each 
census since the second, until by the census of 1910, the 
ratio is one Representative to 214,717 persons; for, had 
these changes not been made, the number of Representa¬ 
tives in the Congress would be too great to do any legisla¬ 
tive business. The last census, in 1910, showed our popu¬ 
lation to be about ninety-three millions. If the ratio of one 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


23 


Representative for each thirty thousand had been continued 
the House of Representatives would to-day consist of more 
than 2,500 men, a number far too great to act harmoniously 
and promptly on the nation’s business. 

The words, "three-fifths of all other persons,” refer to 
slaves, and are thus explained : If a state contained twenty- 
five thousand free persons and fifteen thousand slaves, its 
census, for the purpose of representation and direct taxes, 
would be twenty-five thousand free persons plus three- 
fifths of fifteen thousand slaves — nine thousand : a total of 
thirty-four thousand. 

As'slavery has been abolished by the thirteenth Amend¬ 
ment, the part of the clause referring to slaves is not now 
in effect. 

Taxes — Direct and Indirect. —Taxes are the sums of 
money the people give the government to pay the expenses 
of carrying it on. The judges must be paid, the public 
property cared for, the army and navy provided for. The 
public works for the general welfare all require money for 
their maintenance, and this money comes from the people 
in the form of taxes. 

Taxes are of two kinds, direct and indirect. 

By "direct taxes,” referred to in this clause, is meant 
those taxes paid by the people directly to the tax collector 
of the government, as when a house owner pays to the col¬ 
lector annually a sum of money as taxes on the house he 
owns. Congress has successfully levied direct taxes in 
1798, 1813, 1815, 1816, and 1861.* The government is 
supported almost entirely by indirect taxes. There is a 

* See Amendment XVI, page 120. 


24 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


tax on sugar brought into this country. The tax the 
importer of sugar pays to the government is added to the 
price of sugar before he sells it to the people, and thus by 
paying the increased cost of the sugar, the people indirectly 
pay the tax. By means of these indirect taxes on imported 
goods, and also on wine, beer, spirits, and tobacco, the 
United States raises millions of dollars annually. 

Clause 4. "When vacancies happen in the repre¬ 
sentation from any State, the executive authority 
thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such 
vacancies.” 

When a Congressman dies, resigns, or is expelled, the 
Governor of the state which he represents causes another 
election to be held to fill the Representative’s unexpired term. 

Clause 5. "The House of Representatives shall 
choose their Speaker and other officers, and shall 
have the sole power of impeachment.” 

The Speaker and Other Officers of the Lower 
House. —The Speaker is the presiding officer of the House. 
His position is one of great political importance, although 
the rules of the House no longer give to him the unlimited 
power, which was once accorded, in the appointment of the 
standing committees to which are referred all bills that are 
proposed to be passed. 

The other principal officers of the House of Representa¬ 
tives are: Clerk, Sergeant-at-Arms, Door-keeper, Offi¬ 
cial Reporter of Debate, Postmaster, and Chaplain. The 
Clerk presides at the meeting of Congress previous to the 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


25 


election of the Speaker, and, after the organization of 
the House, performs all the duties of a clerk and secretary. 
He has a force of assistants. 

The Sergeant-at-Arms represents the authority of the 
House, quells any disorder that may arise during the 
sessions, and searches for and brings in members that, for 
any reason, try to avoid attendance at a session. The 
Door-keeper has charge of the entrance to the House, and 
admits only those who are entitled to enter. The Re¬ 
porter of Debates takes down the proceedings for use in 
the Congressional Record . The Postmaster looks after the 
mail of the members. The Chaplain offers up prayer at 
the opening of the sessions of the House. 

Each state of the United States has a popular Assembly, 
or lower house, of its legislature, which has practically 
the same kind of officers. 

Impeachment.—When a person is impeached for a 
crime, it is the same as saying he is accused of the 
crime. The House of Representatives has the sole 
power of accusing, or impeaching, by majority vote, any 
of the civil officers of the Government. Later, we shall 
learn that the Senate has the sole power to try the persons 
that the House impeaches or accuses. 

The same method is followed in dealing with accused 
officials as is employed against accused citizens. In the 
first the House indicts, or accuses, the official, and the 
Senate tries him ; in the second the grand jury indicts the 
citizen, and the petit jury tries him. 

The most important case of impeachment is that of 


26 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


President Johnson in 1868. On being tried by the Senate 
he was acquitted. 

Other important impeachments are: (1) William 

Blount, United States Senator from Tennessee, for con¬ 
spiring to transfer New Orleans from Spain to Great 
Britain, 1797-8; acquitted for want of evidence. (2) 
John Pickering, United States District Court Judge for 
the district of New Hampshire, charged with drunkenness, 
profanity, etc. ; convicted, March 12, 1803. (3) Judge 
Samuel Chase; acquitted, March 1, 1805. (4) Judge 
James H. Peck, District Judge of United States Court of 
the Missouri District, for arbitrary conduct; acquitted, 
1830. (5) West H. Humphreys, Judge of United States 

District Court of Tennessee ; impeached and convicted for 
rebellion, 1862. (6) W. H. Belknap, Secretary of War, 

impeached for receiving bribes from post traders among 
the Indians, March 2, 1876. He resigned at the same 
time; acquitted for want of jurisdiction. (7) Charles 
Swayne, District Judge of the United States for the 
Northern District of Florida, impeached "of high crimes 
and misdemeanors in office”; acquitted, Feb. 27, 1904. 
(8) R. W. Archbald, Judge of the United States Court of 
Commerce, was found guilty by the Senate on five of the 
thirteen articles of impeachment lodged against him by the 
House of Representatives, Jan. 13, 1913. 


QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER II 


1. Each state in the Union has what kind of a Constitution? 

2 . Counties and towns are governed how? 

3 . Why does the first article of the Constitution deal with the legis¬ 
lative function? 

4 . Of what does the Congress of the United States consist ? 

5 . In Section 1 , Article 1 , of the Constitution, what do “powers herein 
granted” refer to? 

6 . The members of the House of Representatives are chosen for 
what length of time ? 

7 . A voter for a Representative must have what qualifications? 

8 . Are the qualifications for voters the same in all States? 

9 . State one of the qualifications for Massachusetts voters. 

10 . State under what conditions a Georgia voter may be prevented 
from voting? 

11 . Do all States require their voters to be citizens? 

12 . Who determines the qualifications of a voter? 

13 . Who determines the qualifications of citizenship? 

14 . Why should the United States have the sole right of defining citi¬ 
zenship ? 

15 . Give the qualifications fora Representative? 

16 . How are Representatives and direct taxes apportioned among 
the several States? 

17 . What is the census? 

18 . What was the ratio of Representation in the first Congress? 

19 . What is the ratio in the present Congress ? 

20 . Why has this ratio been reduced ? 

21 . What do you understand by “three-fifths of all other persons?” 

22 . What are taxes ? 

23 . Why are they levied? 

24 . How many kinds of taxes are there? 

25 . What is a direct tax? 


26 . What is an indirect tax ? 

27 . Which of these taxes is most usea Dy the national government? 

28 . When a Congressman dies, resigns, or is expelled, how is his place 
filled? 

29 . How are the Speaker and other officers of the lower House chosen ? 

30 . What are the other principal officers of the House? 

31 . Does the Lower House in each State have similar officers? 

32 . What is impeachment? 

33 . The power of impeachment lies solely with what body? 

34 . The power of trying lies solely with what body? 

35 . How do methods employed in dealing with accused officials and 
accused citizens differ? 

36 . What is the most important case of impeachment in our annals ? 


CHAPTER III. 

THE SENATE, OR UPPER HOUSE OF THE CONGRESS 
OF THE UNITED STATES 

Section 3. Clause 1. w The Senate of the United 
States shall be composed of two Senators from each 
State, chosen by the Legislature thereof for six 
years; and each Senator shall have one vote.” 

We have learned that the number of votes that each 
state has in the House of Representatives depends on the 
population of the state. New York to-day has forty- 
three votes, Illinois has twenty-seven, while Delaware has 
but one. 

Independence of the Senate. — This apportionment of 
Representatives has the tendency to give the larger states 
more power than the smaller, but this is to a great extent 
overcome by giving each state two votes in the Senate; 
and the Senators, being elected for six years, are more 
independent of popular clamor, as their re-election does 
not depend so much on following the popular outcry. For 
these reasons, the Senate acts as a check on the House of 
Representatives. An instance of this is the passing of 
the "Wilmot Proviso” by the House of Representatives, in 
1846. It failed to pass the Senate. The House which 
passed the bill had just been elected by the people, whereas 
many of the Senators had been in office for four years, and 
some of them for nearly six. 


27 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


2S 


As seen from Clause 1, the Senators were formerly 
chosen by the Legislature of the state, but Amendment 
XVII to the Constitution provides that they be elected by 
the people. 

Clause 2. "Immediately after they shall be 
assembled, in consequence of the first election, they 
shall be divided, as equally as may be, into three 
classes. The seats of the Senators of the first class 
shall be vacated at the expiration of the second year; 
of the second class, at the expiration of the fourth 
year; and of the third class, at the expiration of the 
sixth year; so that one-third may be chosen every 
second year, and if vacancies happen, by resignation 
or otherwise, during the recess of the Legislature of 
any State, the executive thereof may make temporary 
appointments until the next meeting of the Legisla¬ 
ture, which shall then fill such vacancies.” 

This manner of grouping was adopted so that there 
should always be some experienced Senators in Congress, 
which might not be the case if the term of all expired at once. 

Amendment XVII also provides that if a vacancy occurs 
in the Senate, the Governor of the state in which the 
vacancy occurs shall order a special election to fill the 
vacancy. The Amendment, however, gives the Legislature 
of the state power to authorize the Governor to appoint a 
Senator temporarily until one is elected by the people at 
die next general election. 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


29 


Clause 3. "No person shall be a Senator who 
shall not have attained to the age of thirty years, 
and been nine years a citizen of the United States, 
and who shall not, w r hen elected, be an inhabitant of 
that State for which he shall be chosen.” 

The age of qualification of a Senator was increased over 
that of a Representative, as it was desired to have men of 
riper judgment in the Senate. 

Clause 4. " The Vice-President of the United 
States shall be President of the Senate, but shall 
have no vote unless they be equally divided.” 

It would not be fair to give the Vice-President a vote as 
he is not elected to represent any particular state in the 
Senate. 

Clause 5. " The Senate shall choose their other 

officers, and also a President pro tempore in the ab¬ 
sence of the Vice-President, or when he shall exercise 
the office of President of the United States.” 

The principal "other officers ” of the Senate are a Secre¬ 
tary, Chief Clerk, Sergeant-at-Arms, Postmaster, Report¬ 
ers of Debates, Door-Keeper and Chaplain. The President 
pro tempore does not lose his vote in the Senate. 

Clause 6. " The Senate shall have the sole power 

to try all impeachments. When sitting for that pur¬ 
pose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. When 
the President of the United States is tried, the Chief 


30 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


Justice shall preside, and no person shall be convicted 
without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members 
present. ” 

Powers and Duties of the Senate in Impeachments. 

— In other impeachments than that of the President, the 
Vice-President presides. As he would succeed the Presi¬ 
dent in case of a conviction it would be unjust to have him 
take any part in the President’s trial. When President 
Johnson was tried by the Senate after being impeached by 
the House, Chief Justice Chase presided. There was one 
vote less than two-thirds of the members present for con¬ 
viction, in consequence of which President Johnson was 
acquitted. 

Clause 7. " Judgment in cases of impeachment 

shall not extend further than to removal from office, 
and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of 
honor, trust, or profit, under the United States; but 
the party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and 
subject to indictment, trial, judgment, and punish¬ 
ment, according to law. ” 

If the Senate should find a .civil officer guilty of treason, 
he could not be put into prison or otherwise punished as a 
result of this. He could, however, be tried by a United 
States Court, and if found guilty, could be hanged. 

Trial by Court-Martial. It will be noticed that the 
power of impeachment refers only to civil officers. Officers 
in the Army and Navy are tried by a court-martial accord- 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


31 


ing to laws made by Congress. A court-martial consists of 
a number of officers of higher rank than the accused. The 
finding or verdict of the court-martial in regard to officers 
is finally passed upon by the President of the United States, 
he being Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy. If 
he approves of the verdict, it stands; if he disapproves, 
the findings are of no effect. 

Probably the two most noted trials by court-martial are, 
(1) that of General Charles Lee, who was tried for dis¬ 
obedience of orders and disgraceful conduct at the battle of 
Monmouth, in the War of the Revolution; and (2) that of 
General W. Hull, who was convicted of cowardice in sur¬ 
rendering Detroit to the enemy in the second war with 
England. 

























* 







QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER III 


1. What is the number of Senators from each State? 

2. What is the number of Representatives from New York to-day? 
From Delaware? 

3. What tendency has this apportionment of Representatives? 

4. How is this tendency overcome? 

5. What is the term of a Senator? 

6 . What reasons cause the Senate to act as a check on the House 
of Representatives? Give; an instance. 

7. How are Senators chosen? 

8 . How were Senators formerly chosen? 

9. Why was the manner of grouping the Senators expressed in Clause 
2 , Section 3, adopted? 

10. If a vacancy happen in the Senate by resignation or otherwise, 
how may it be filled? 

11. What are the qualifications of a Senator? 

12 . Who is president of the Senate? 

13. Why is the Vice-President of the United States not given a vote 
in the Senate? 

14. What are the officers of the Senate? 

15. When the President of the United States is impeached who pre¬ 
sides at his trial? 

16. Why does not the Vice-President preside at his trial? 

17. In all other impeachments who does preside? 

18. What vote is required for conviction? 

19. What was the vote in the case of President Johnson? 

20. How far may judgment extend in cases of impeachment? 

21 . If the Senate should find a civil officer guilty of treason could it 
sentence him to be hanged? 

22. Does the power of impeachment extend to army and navy 
officers? 

23. How are army and navy officers tried? 

24. What is a court-martial? 

25. Who passes finally on the findings of court-martials? Why? 

26. What are the two most noted trials by court-martial? 


CHAPTER IV. 


ELECTION, POWERS, DUTIES, PRIVILEGES AND DISABILI¬ 
TIES OF SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES. 

Section 4. Clause 1. "The times, places, and 
manner of holding elections for Senators and Rep¬ 
resentatives shall be prescribed in each State by the 
Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any 
time, by law, make or alter such regulations except 
as to the places of choosing Senators.” 

Manner of Electing Senators. — The Constitution of 
the United States, as adopted by the Federal Convention, 
provided that United States Senators should be elected by 
the Legislatures of the states; but Amendment XVII 
changes this method and requires United States Senators 
to be elected by the people in the same manner as Repre¬ 
sentatives are elected. 

On the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, 
in an even year, the voters go to the common voting places 
and vote by ballot for the candidate for United States 
Senator. The person receiving the highest number of 
votes stands elected. Only one Senator is chosen at each 
election, unless a vacancy is filled at the same time. 

32 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


33 


Clause 2. " The Congress shall assemble at least 

once in every year; and such meeting shall be on 
the first Monday in December, unless they shall by 
law appoint a different day.” 

By this clause Congress is obliged to assemble once 
every year; sometimes it has met more than once a year 
in regular session. We shall learn in Article II. that the 
President has power to cause it to assemble in special 
session when he deems it necessary. 

Section 5. Clause 1. " Each House shall be the 

judge of* the elections, returns, and qualifications of 
its own members; and a majority of each shall con¬ 
stitute a quorum to do business, but a smaller num¬ 
ber may adjourn from day to day, and may be 
authorized to compel the attendance of absent mem¬ 
bers, in such manner and under such penalties as 
each house may provide.” 

When a person is elected a member to either House of 
Congress, the state he represents gives him a certificate of 
election. The House to which he is elected has sole power 
to determine whether he has been lawfully elected and 
whether he is qualified to be a member. 

In 1865, immediately after the Civil War, each House 
refused to admit as members any of the persons elected by 
the eleven states that had seceded. 

A majority is more than half; neither house can do any 
business unless a quorum of more than half is present. 


34 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


Attendance of Members.— Under the articles of Con¬ 
federation the Congress had no power to compel members 
to be present. This clause in the Constitution gives less 
than a quorum power to compel the attendance of members, 
and also to punish them for non-attendance, thus insuring 
that the legislative business of the nation will be attended to. 
It has happened several times that some members have en¬ 
deavored to prevent bills being passed, by absenting them¬ 
selves and leaving no quorum in the House. The Speaker 
has then used the authority of the House to compel their 
attendance by sending the Sergeant-at-Arms after them. 

Clause 2. w Each house may determine the rules 
of its proceedings, punish its members for disorderly 
behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, 
expel a member.” 

Rules and Proceedings of Each House.—There 
must be rules to govern the conduct of each individual in 
a body of men assembled to do business; these rules are 
made by each House. Some of the rules are in regard 
to making motions, some as to the length of time a 
member can speak, some as to the reports and powers of 
commi^ees All these rules taken together make up what 
is known as parliamentary law, the law that governs all de¬ 
liberative bodies, such as legislatures, corporations, clubs, 
and other associations. One very important method or rule 
of procedure, is the one in regard to committees. * The 
Speaker of the House appoints a number of committees to 

* This power has since been taken from him. In 1911, the dominant party (Democratic) 
followed this plan: They elected the Ways and Means Committee in caucus, and this com¬ 
mittee named the members of all other committees. 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


35 


consider the various measures that come before Congress to 
be acted upon. Each committee looks thoroughly into the 
matter referred to it, reports the results of the examination, 
and makes recommendations to Congress. The Committee 
on Military Affairs considers all matters relating to the 
Army, the Committee on Foreign Affairs considers all busi¬ 
ness we may have with foreign nations. The Committee 
on Rules considers and reports on rules for governing the 
House. The most important committee is that on Ways 
and Means. One of its duties is to consider and report on 
the ways of raising money by means of the tariff. 

In the Senate these Committees are elected by ballot by 
the Senators. 

Sometimes in the excitement of debate a member will so 
far forget himself as to break the rules of the House ; he is 
then called to order by the Speaker, and if he still persists 
in his conduct he can be punished by the House. 

In 1856 Mr. Preston S. Brooks, Representative from 
South Carolina, struck Senator Charles Sumner with a cane, 
while the latter was in the Senate Chamber. A committee 
of the House of Representatives reported in favor of ex¬ 
pelling Mr. Brooks, but when the House voted on the 
question of expulsion, the vote for conviction was less than 
the required two-thirds. 

Clause 3. " Each House shall keep a journal of 

its proceedings, and from time to time publish the 
same, excepting such parts as may, in their judg¬ 
ment, require secrecy; and the yeas and nays of the 


36 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


members of either House on any question shall, at 
the desire of one-fifth of those present, be entered on 
the journal. ” 

The Congressional Record. — The proceedings of 
Congress which are kept in accordance with this clause 
are published daily in a pamphlet called the Congressional 
Record. Each member of Congress and some other officers 
are entitled by law to a certain number of copies, which 
they send to people in different parts of the country. 
Copies of the Congressional Record can also be obtained by 
citizens by paying for them. The people are thus kept 
informed of the proceedings of Congress. 

The Senate when it is considering a treaty with a foreign 
country keeps its proceedings secret, by going into execu¬ 
tive session. The Webster-Ashburton Treaty, concerning 
the northeastern boundary line, was considered in executive 
or secret session. 

The yeas and nays of the members are recorded in impor¬ 
tant questions, so that the people may know how their 
representatives voted on these questions. 

Clause 4. "Neither House, during the session of 
Congress, shall, without the consent of the other, 
adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other 
place than that in which the two Houses shall be 
sitting.” 

As a previous clause provides that less than a majority 
of either House may adjourn, it might happen that less than 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


37 


a majority of one House might adjourn for an indefinite 
period and stop the work of the Congress. Clause 4 is in¬ 
tended to prevent this by requiring the consent of both 
Houses to a long adjournment. 

Section 6. Clause 1. " The Senators and Repre¬ 

sentatives shall receive a compensation for their ser¬ 
vices, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the 
Treasury of the United States. They shall in all 
cases except treason, felony and breach of the peace, 
be privileged from arrest during their attendance at 
the session of their respective Houses, and in going 
to and returning from the same; and for any speech 
or debate in either House, they shall not be ques¬ 
tioned in any other place.” 

The first Congress passed an act fixing the pay of Repre¬ 
sentatives and Senators at six dollars per day each. This 
salary has been changed several times; it is now (1913) 
seventy-five hundred dollars a year. The fact that the 
United States pays the members, makes them independent 
of the states. 

The privilege from arrest in this clause is given the 
members so they cannot be prevented from attending to 
their duties by arrest on trifling charges that might be 
brought against them by political opponents. A felony* is 
a o^ross crime — murder, highway robbery and forgery are 
instances of felony. Fighting in the street would be a 
breach of the peace. Treason is defined in Article III., 
Section 3, of the Constitution. 

*A Federal statute was enacted In 1909 which provides that any offence punishable by 
imprisonment for a term exceeding one year constitutes a felony. This makes smuggling or 
attempted smuggling a felony. 


38 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


In debating measures and men in Congress, it often 
happens that characters of men are discussed. No man 
who may think his character has been injured by a member 
in debate, can sue the member in any court. This is to 
insure perfect freedom of speech in Congress. 

Claused. "No Senator or Representative shall, 
during the time for which he was elected, be ap¬ 
pointed to any civil office under the authority of the 
United States, which shall have been created, or the 
emoluments whereof shall have been increased, dur¬ 
ing such time; and no person holding any office 
under the United States shall be a member of either 
House during his continuance in office.” 

As the Senate and House of Representatives make many 
laws creating civil officers and often regulate the pay of the 
civil officers, it would be unwise to allow a Senator or Rep¬ 
resentative to take part in creating an office or fixing the 
pay of an office, which he himself might hold. There is a 
prejudice against a citizen holding two public offices at the 
same time, and this clause forbids it. This is especially 
proper in the case of members of Congress. If, for example, 
a judge were a member, it might happen that he be called 
upon to vote on his own impeachment. 


QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER IV 


1. In what year did Congress pass a law to regulate the time and 
manner of choosing Senators ? 

2 . What is this time and manner? 

3 . In what year did Congress enact that all Representatives should 
be voted for by written or printed ballots ? 

4 . Why is Congress prohibited from changing “the places of choosing 
Senators?” 

5 . How often shall Congress assemble? On what day? 

6 Who determines whether a man elected to Congress has been law¬ 
fully elected and whether he is qualified to be a member? 

7 . What did each House do immediately after the Civil War? 

8 . What is a majority in any Legislative body? 

9 . What is a quorum in each House? 

10 . Under the Articles of Confederation did the Congress have power 
to compel members to be present ? 

11 . Has the present Congress power? 

12 . What officer of the House is sent after absent members? 

13 . The law that governs all deliberative bodies is known as what? 

14 . Mention some of the committees of the Lower House. What are 
their duties? 

15 . How are these committees formed? 

16 . How are committees in the Senate formed? 

17 . What happens to a Representative who breaks the rules of the 
House ? 

18 . What occurred in the Brooks-Sumner matter in 1856 ? 

19 . What is the Congressional Record? 

20 . How does the Senate consider a treaty with a foreign power so that 
it may keep its proceedings secret? 

21 . Why are the yeas and nays of the members recorded in important 
questions ? 

22 . What is the object of Clause 4 of Section 5 ? 


23. What is the salary of a Senator? of a Representative? 

24. Why are members exempt from arrest during their attendance ? 

25. How is perfect freedom of speech insured in Congress? 

26. May a Senator or Congressman be appointed during his term of 
office to any civil office under the authority of the United States ? 

27. Can a person holding office under the United States be a member 
of either House during his continuance in office ? 


CHAPTER V. 


MODE OF PASSING LAWS. 

Section 7. Clause 1. w All bills for raising* revenue 
shall originate in the House of Representatives; but 
the Senate may propose or concur with amendments, 
as on other bills.” 

Revenue Laws Originate in the Lower House.— 

The people have always been very jealous of the power 
to impose taxes, and the Constitution places the power in 
the hands of the Representatives because they are elected 
for only two years; and if the power should be abused the 
people could correct the matter by not reelecting such as 
they considered failed in their duty. However, after a 
revenue or tax bill has once passed the House, the Senate 
may change it. The change must be agreed to by the 
House, before it can become a law. 

All tariff bills originate in the House, as they are 
revenue bills taxing imports. The McKinley Bill, the 
Wilson Bill and the Dingley Bill are among the prominent 
tariff bills, each bill taking its name from the Chairman of 
the Ways and Means Committee that had the bill in charge. 

Clause 2. w Every bill which shall have passed 
the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, 
before it become a law, be presented to the President 


39 


40 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


of the United States: if he approve, he shall sign it; 
but if not, he shall return it, with his objections, to 
that House in which it shall have originated, who shall 
enter the objections at large on their journal, and pro¬ 
ceed to reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration, 
two-thirds of that House shall agree to pass the bill, 
it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the 
other House, by which it shall likewise be recon¬ 
sidered ; and if approved by two-thirds of that House, 
it shall become a law. But, in all such cases, the 
votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas 
and nays; and the names of the persons voting for 
and against the bill shall be entered on the journal of 
each House respectively. If any bill shall not be re¬ 
turned by the President within ten days (Sunday 
excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, 
the same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had 
signed it, unless the Congress, by their adjournment, 
prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a 
law.” 

From this clause we learn that there are three ways by 
which a law can be made : 

A Bill May Become a Law by Being Passed by a 
Majority of Each House and Receiving the Presi¬ 
dent’s Signature.— First, a bill may be voted for by a 
majority of each House and signed by the President. The 
Missouri Compromise was made a law in this manner, being 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


41 


passed by a majority of each House and signed by Presi¬ 
dent Monroe. 

A Bill May be Passed by a Two-thirds Vote of 
Each House Over the President’s Veto.— A second 
way in which a bill may be enacted is by being passed 
by a majority of each House, and on the President’s 
refusal to sign it, by being repassed by a two-thirds 
vote of each House. The Civil Rights Bill became a law 
in this manner, being passed by two-thirds of each House 
after President Johnson had vetoed it, or in other words, 
refused to sign it. 

How Some Bills Become Laws Even Without the 
President’s Action. — A third way is by the bill being 
passed by a majority of each House and the President 
keeping it for ten days (Sunday excepted) without signing 
it. The Wilson Tariff Bill became a law in this way, as 
President Cleveland did not return it to Congress within 
ten days. If, however, Congress had adjourned so as to 
prevent the return of the Wilson Bill before the ten days 
had expired, it would not have become a law. 

When Congress adjourns before the expiration of the ten 
days, preventing the return of the bill and it remains in the 
President’s hands unsigned, it does not become a law. This 
is termed a " pocket veto.” 

A bill for the improvement of river and harbors was 
held by President Jackson. Congress adjourned in less 
than ten days, preventing its return within ten days after 
he received it, and the bill failed to become a law through 
the "pocket veto.” 


42 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


Many bills have failed to become laws by being vetoed 
by the President. A prominent one is that relating to the 
United States Bank. The bill giving this bank a new 
charter or power to exist and do business was vetoed by 
President Jackson during his first term. 

Clause 3. " Every order, resolution, or vote, to 

which the concurrence of the Senate and House of 
.Representatives may be necessary (except on a 
question of adjournment), shall be presented to the 
President of the United States, and before the same 
shall take effect, shall be approved by him, or, being 
disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two-thirds 
of the Senate and House of Representatives, accord¬ 
ing to the rules and limitations prescribed in the 
case of a bill.” 

This clause has exactly the same meaning as Clause 2 and 
was adopted so that if Congress should change the word 
bill in Clause 2 to one of the words order, resolution, or 
vote, they could not avoid sending the bill to the President 
for his approval. This method of passing bills is similar 
to the method adopted in most state governments. The 
governor of the state approves or vetoes the bills passed 
by its Legislature. 

We must here note that the president, when he acts 
under these clauses, takes an important pait in the legisla¬ 
tive function. We shall learn from Article II. of the Con¬ 
stitution that the President’s function is chiefly executive. 


QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER V 


1. Where do revenue laws orginate ? 

2. May the Senate change a revenue bill? 

3. Why must tariff bills originate in the House ? 

4 Mention three tariff bills and tell why they are named as they are? 

5. In how many ways may a bill become a law? 

6. Mention the first way; mention the second way; mention the 
third way. 

7. What is a “pocket veto”? 

8. Mention one of President Jackson’s “pocket vetoes.” 

9. What president vetoed the bill giving the United States Bank a new 
charter ? 

10. What does the Constitution provide regarding “every order, resolu¬ 
tion, or vote, to which the concurrence of the Senate and House of Repre¬ 
sentatives may be necessary?” 

11. Why were the words order , resolution , or vote here used? 

12. What method of passing bills has been adopted by most State 
governments ? 




CHAPTER VI. 

POWERS OF CONGRESS. 

The Constitution thus far has treated of the election and 
formation of Congress. It has told us how the members 
are brought together for the business of making laws, and 
how those laws must be made. 

In the following section the Constitution tells the Con¬ 
gress what it may do, and what laws it has power to 
make. And Congress cannot go beyond these powers 
and make other laws than are permitted by the Consti¬ 
tution. If it should do so, those laws could be declared 
unconstitutional and worthless by the Supreme Court, 
which is part of the judicial department of the United 
States. 

In 1857 , the presiding justice of the Supreme Court, in 
rendering the decision on the Dred Scott case, declared 
that the Missouri Compromise, passed by Congress in 1820 , 
was unconstitutional and void, and in 1895 the Supreme 
Court declared unconstitutional that part of the Wilson 
Tariff Bill of 1894 which referred to an income tax, and 
the taxes collected under that provision were returned, 
Congress having gone beyond its power in making that part 
of the law. 

Section 8. Clause 1. " The Congress shall have 

power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and 


43 


44 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


excises, to pay the debts, and provide for the 
common defence and general welfare, of the United 
States; but all duties, imposts and excises shall be 
uniform throughout the United States; ” 

The four words—taxes, duties, imposts, and excises 
— mean about the same, and refer to money collected from 
the people for the purpose of carrying on the government. 
The old Continental Congress had no power to collect taxes. 

Use Made of the Taxes. — Let us see what Congress 
can do with these taxes:—( 1 ) "Pay the debts.” During 
the revolution the United States had borrowed large sums 
of money, which the states as individual governments 
neglected to pay. Congress, by this clause having the 
power to raise the money, paid these debts, and has kept 
faith with its creditors ever since. The principal foreign 
debt was the French loan. 

(2) "Provide for the common defence” means the main¬ 
taining of forts, armies and navies. 

( 3 ) "Provide for the general welfare” can be made to 
cover all acts that tend to benefit the whole country. The 
power to purchase Louisiana is found in this clause, as this 
purchase benefited the whole country by opening the 
Mississippi River, and relieving us forever from boundary 
disputes with France. 

The weather bureau is established for the general welfare ; 
agricultural stations, whence are sent information and 
sample seeds to farmers, are also for the general welfare. 

These taxes shall be uniform, that is to say, a man in 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


45 


California shall be taxed in the same ratio as the man in 
New York. 

Clause 2. " To borrow money on the credit of the 

United States;” 

At the outbreak of the war with Spain the United States 
borrowed fifty million dollars from the people, and issued 
to the purchasers interest-bearing bonds, they having confi¬ 
dence that the United States would redeem the bonds with 
the money obtained by taxes. . 

Clause 3. To regulate commerce with foreign 
nations, and among the several States, and with the 
Indian tribes; ” 

Power over Commerce and Trade. — The United 
States regulates commerce with foreign nations by making 
treaties with them. It would be very unwise to allow each 
state to make treaties of commerce and trade with foreign 
nations. Treaties might thus be made giving one state an 
advantage over another. 

In the year 1795 , " Jay’s Treaty” with England was 
signed by the President and concurred in by the Senate by 
a vote of twenty to ten, exactly two-thirds. This treaty 
contained many clauses regulating our trade with England. 

Congress has passed a law creating the Interstate Com¬ 
merce Commission, which has supervision over railways 
and other means of transportation between the states. 
Their principal duty is to see that the passenger and freight 
rates are equitable between the states. 


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CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


This clause makes the Indian tribes to a certain extent 
the wards of the nation. 

Clause 4. "To establish a uniform rule of naturali¬ 
zation, and uniform laws on the subject of bankrupt¬ 
cies, throughout the United States;” 

Naturalization. By rule of naturalization is meant a 
law stating who are and who may become citizens. Why 
the United States should have this sole power has already 
been explained. Every person born in the United States 
is a citizen. The children of citizens of the United States 
born while their parents are temporarily living abroad are 
citizens. 

Foreigners can become citizens after a residence of five 
years, (see Naturalization, page 274) ; two applica¬ 
tions are necessary, one two years before the final applica¬ 
tion . The applicant must swear to support the Constitution 
of the United States and must renounce all allegiance to 
any foreign State. 

A soldier or a sailor in the Navy of the age of twenty-one, 
regularly discharged from the Army or the Navy of the 
United States, may be admitted to citizenship with a single 
year’s residence. 

All children whose parents are naturalized become citi¬ 
zens at the age of twenty-one if they reside in the United 
States. 

Bankrupts and Bankruptcy. — A person who cannot 
pay his debts is a bankrupt. During the panic of 1837 
many people suddenly lost fortunes and their creditors 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


47 


could prevent them from again succeeding financially, by 
seizing any property they might acquire in the future, to 
satisfy the creditors’ old claims. 

Congress has at different times passed bankrupt laws, 
which free a man from his debts, provided he gives what 
property he may possess into the hands of his creditors for 
their benefit. He cannot take advantage of the law, if it is 
proved he has acted fraudulently. 

Congress has repealed all the United States bankrupt 
laws except the last one, and there have been long periods 
of time when there were not any United States bankrupt 
laws in effect. During these periods, the State bankrupt 
laws have been valid and have caused more or less annoy¬ 
ance and confusion to both creditors and debtors, owing to 
the laws not being uniform. 

Clause 5. " To coin money, regulate the value 

thereof and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of 
weights and measures;” 

Laws Relating to Money and Weights. —Congress 
has passed many laws relating to coining money, and it has 
equipped establishments called mints, in which money is 
coined. At present there is a mint in each of the following 
cities : San Francisco, Carson City, Denver, Philadelphia 
and New Orleans. The gold and silver coin of the United 
States, by law of Congress, is ninety per cent pure, the 
the other ten per cent is copper. 

In the early period of the history of the United States 
coin of all countries was in circulation, and it was neces- 


48 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


sary that some power should regulate its value in business. 
This power was given to Congress. At the present time, 
the bankers and merchants regulate the rate of exchange with 
foreign countries through the law of supply and demand. 

In 1836, Congress directed the Secretary of the Treasury 
to deliver a complete set of weights and measures adopted 
as standards, to the governor of each state, in order that 
there might be a uniform standard throughout the United 
States. In 1866, the metric system was legalized by Con¬ 
gress, and in 1876, money was appropriated to procure 
metric standards for all the states. 

Clause 6. ” To provide for the punishment of 

counterfeiting the securities and current coin of the 
United States;” 

During the Revolution some evil persons counterfeited 
the Continental money and under the Articles of Confedera¬ 
tion there was no power to punish the counterfeiters. The 
United States Congress has established a force of men, 
known as the secret service, whose most important duty is 
to detect counterfeiters. These men have arrested, and the 
United States courts have, through the laws of Congress, 
convicted many men of this crime against the country. It 
will be noticed that the power of punishment also extends 
to counterfeiting the securities. These securities are bonds 
and notes on which the Government borrows money. 

Clause 7. " To establish post-offices and post¬ 

roads; ” 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


49 


The Post-Offices and Mails. — By the power given in 
this little sentence, Congress has established the vast sys¬ 
tem of post-offices and mail deliveries throughout the 
United States. All matters connected with the mails are in 
charge of the United States. 

In 1806, Congress, under the power conferred in this 
clause, passed an act for the building of a road from the Poto¬ 
mac to the Ohio Piver. At different times Congress has 
aided railroads and other transportation companies in build¬ 
ing their roads, these companies in return carrying the 
United States mail. When a transportation company 
assumes the duty of carrying the mail it is under the pro¬ 
tection of the United States, and it sometimes happens that 
United States troops are sent into a state to protect these 
transportation companies against the attacks of mobs and 
strikers. Ordinarily, United States troops are not used in 
the states unless at. the request of the governor of the 
state. 

Clause 8. " To promote the progress of science 

and useful arts, by securing for limited times, to 
authors and inventors, the exclusive right to their 
respective writings and discoveries;” 

Copyrights and Patents. — The copyright law now in 

force gives an author the exclusive right to control the sale 
of his books or publications for twenty-eight years, with, 
the privilege of having this right renewed for the period of 
twenty-eight years. All books must have the date of the 
copyright printed in them. This copyright is obtained by 


50 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


applying to the Librarian of Congress. The patent law 
passed by Congress under this clause gives an inventor the 
exclusive right to make and sell his invention for seventeen 
years. The inventor makes an application to the Patent 
Office in Washington and when the patent is granted all the 
articles made and sold are marked patented, with the date 
of the granting of the patent. 

Important Inventions.— Among the important inven¬ 
tions which have been patented are the cotton gin, patented 
by Eli Whitney in 1793, the electric telegraph, by S. F. B. 
Morse in 1837 ; and the sewing machine, by Elias Howe in 
1846. A series of patents was granted on the discoveries 
in the manufacture of india rubber made by Charles Good¬ 
year from 1837 to 1850. The telephone, invented by William 
Graham Bell, was patented in 1876. Thomas A. Edison 
has patented many electrical devices since 1870. 

Clause 9.— "To constitute tribunals inferior to the 
Supreme Court;” 

Under this power Congress has established courts, which 
will be considered when we discuss the judicial department 
of the Government, and the Supreme Court. 

Clause 10.— " To define and punish piracies and 
felonies committed on the high seas, and offences 
against the law of nations;” 

International Law.— The law of nations consists of the 
customs that have gradually grown out of the commercial 
and other transactions among nations, together with the 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


51 


treaties nations make with each other. One of these 
customs or laws is to consider a pirate an outlaw to be 
punished, on conviction, with death. In 1819 there 
were many pirates cruising in the West Indies, and 
the United States sent Commodore Perry there to cap¬ 
ture them. He died of yellow fever at Trinidad; more 
vessels, however, were sent and eventually cleared this 
region of pirates. 

Nations regard ships sailing under a national flag as part 
of the territory of the country the flag represents. The 
United States therefore is given the power, under the Con¬ 
stitution, to punish felonies committed on the high seas 
under the flag. The oceans or high seas are considered the 
joint property of nations. 

Another law of nations is that a nation’s representatives, 
as ambassadors and consuls, shall not be disturbed during 
their official residence in another country. If, therefore, a 
citizen of the United States should disturb one of these 
officers of a foreign country during the officer’s residence 
here, the citizens could be punished under the power 
granted by this clause. 

Clause 11. " To declare war, grant letters of 

marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning cap¬ 
tures on land and water.” 

Power of Declaring War Vested in Congress.— The 
power of declaring war is one of the most important powers 
of a nation. The whole Congress exercises this power for 
the United States. We have already referred to this power 


52 


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being used by Congress in declaring war against England 
in 1812. 

Privateers.— Letters of marque and reprisal are com¬ 
missions given, in time of war, to owners of vessels 
empowering them to capture and destroy the enemy’s ves¬ 
sels on the seas and in his ports. A vessel so commis¬ 
sioned is called a privateer. During the war of 1812 six¬ 
teen hundred British vessels were captured or destroyed by 
American privateers. 

Many nations have by treaty agreed not to use privateers 
in any future war. The United States, however, has not 
entered into any such agreement. 

As the property captured in time of war is taken 
under power of Congress, it is right that Congress should 
make rules as to its disposal. In the case of captured 
vessels they have heretofore been sold and part of the pro¬ 
ceeds distributed to the officers and sailors of the captur¬ 
ing vessels as prize money. 

Clause 12. w To raise and support armies; but no 
appropriation of money to that use shall be for a 
longer term than two years 

Money for the Army.— Under the Articles of Confed¬ 
eration the United States could declare war, but had no 
power to raise armies. The Government depended on the 
men the different states might send. This clause gives 
Congress the power to call men into the army. In 1863 a 
law was passed declaring that all male citizens between the 
ages of twenty and forty-five, and those men who had 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


53 


declared their intention to become citizens, with some excep¬ 
tions, constitute the national forces ; and by virtue of this 
law, men were picked out by lot, or drafted, as it was 
called, to serve in the army during the Civil War. 

As appropriations for money originate in the House of 
Representatives, and as the appropriations for the army can 
be made for only two years, the power over the army rests 
in the people, as they can send representatives to Congress 
at the expiration of any appropriation, pledged to oppose 
an appropriation of money for the support of the army. 

Congress maintains a small standing army, commonly 
known as the regular army, for the purpose of caring for 
the forts and defenses on the coast and frontiers. The army 
also forms a nucleus about which can be gathered the volun¬ 
teers and drafted men in time of war. As the regulars are 
in constant training, many of them are capable of drilling 
and commanding recruits when necessity calls for them. 

Clause 13. "To provide and maintain a navy;” 

The Navy.— Congress by this clause is not only em¬ 
powered to build and equip ships, but can enact legislation 
tending to maintain them. It appropriates money each 
year for the improvement of rivers and harbors under this 
clause, also for the establishment of lighthouses, lightships, 
beacons and buoys, as all these are necessary for the main¬ 
tenance of a navy. 

Clause 14. " To make rules for the government 

and regulation of the land and naval forces;” 


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Military Laws and Regulations.—Congress has passed 
laws at different times for the government of the land and 
naval forces. These laws were all brought together — cod¬ 
ified as it is called—into one section (in 1874), known as 
the Articles of War of the United States. These Articles 
contain the oath that is to be taken by a soldier on enlisting, 
and also give rules for the conduct and instruction of 
officers for creating and conducting a court-martial. Among 
these rules we will mention the following: 

" Any sentinel who is found sleeping upon his post, or 
who leaves it before he is regularly relieved shall suffer death, 
or such punishment as a court-martial may direct.” 

" Any officer who is convicted of conduct unbecoming in 
an officer and a gentleman shall be dismissed from the 
service.” 

" General courts-martial may consist of any number of 
officers from live to thirteen inclusive; but they shall not 
consist of less than thirteen when that number can be con¬ 
vened without manifest injury to the service.” 

A majority in a court-martial convicts ; in the case of a 
tie the accused person is acquitted. 

Clause 15. w To provide for calling forth the 
militia to execute the laws of the Union, suppress 
insurrections and repel invasions;” 

The Militia or Citizen Soldiers.— The militia consists 
of the citizen soldiers of the different states. Regiments and 
companies of men are organized in the different states by 
volunteer citizens. They are uniformed and equipped by 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


55 


the state. Armories are also built and furnished by the state. 
The men receive no pay except when in active service. They 
drill generally in the evening and lose no time from their 
ordinary work, unless when called by the state in time of 
riot or other troubles. Under clause 15 all these men can 
be called into the service of the United States, and they 
then receive the same pay and are governed by the same 
laws as the United States Regular Army. 

The militia was called out in 1794 to suppress the insur¬ 
rection in Pennsylvania known as the Whiskey Rebellion, 
and also in 1812, during the war with England, to "repel 
invasions.” 

Clause 16. w To provide for organizing, arming, 
and disciplining the militia, and for governing such 
part of them as may be employed in the service ol 
the United States, reserving to the States respec¬ 
tively the appointment of the officers, and the author¬ 
ity of training the militia according to the discipline 
prescribed by Congress;” 

This clause has been fully explained in considering the 
previous clause. 

Clause 17. w To exercise exclusive legislation in 
all cases whatsoever over such district (not exceed¬ 
ing ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular 
States and the acceptance of Congress, become the 
seat of the Government of the United States and to 
exercise like authority over all places purchased, 


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by the consent of the Legislature of the States in 
which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, 
magazines, arsenals, dock-yards, and other needful 
buildings. 

The words " such district” refer to the District of Colum¬ 
bia, where is situated Washington, the Capital of the United 
States. This territory was ceded to the United States by 
Virginia and Maryland. Congress has full power to govern 
this district. 

It is necessary that forts, arsenals, magazines and dock¬ 
yards be built in different parts of the country. Land for 
these purposes is obtained from the states by the United 
States, and when it is acquired, Congress makes all the 
rules for its government. 

Clause 18. w To make all laws which shall be 
necessary and proper for carrying into execution the 
foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by 
this Constitution in the Government of the United 
States, or in any department or officer thereof.” 

Under this clause Congress has made many laws that are 
necessary to carry out the powers granted to it. A very 
important law of this nature was one passed during the 
Civil War, authorizing the making of paper money. Con¬ 
gress was then exercising its power of making war, money 
was needed to carry this power into execution, and Con¬ 
gress passed a law for making paper money to use in carry¬ 
ing on the war. 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


57 


Another case of this kind was the passing of the Embargo 
Act in 1807. Congress has power to regulate commerce 
with foreign nations. England and France were at that 
time at war, and infringing on the rights of neutrals, and 
Congress passed this law as an attempt to compel two 
nations at war to respect the rights of neutrals. The 
attempt was a failure. 


QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER VI 

1. Section 8 of the Constitution tells what? 

2 . Can Congress go beyond its Constitutional powers? 

3 . What would happen if it did? Mention instances. 

4 . In whom does the power to lay and collect taxes rest? 

5 . Define duties, imposts, excises. 

6 . Had the old Continental Congress power to collect taxes? 

7 . What does Congress do with the money collected for taxes ? 

8 . Who paid the debts contracted by individual States during the 
Revolution ? 

9 . What does “provide for the common defense” mean? 

10 . What does “provide for the general welfare ” mean? 

11 . By what authority are the Weather Bureau and Agricultural 
Stations established? 

12 . Are the taxes uniform? 

13 . Can Congress borrow money? Give an instance. 

14 . How does the United States regulate commerce with foreign nations ? 

15 . What treaty was made in 1795 ? 

16 . Under what authority was the Interstate Commerce Commission 
created? 

17 . What are its duties ? 

18 . How is commerce with the Indian tribes regulated? 

19 . Who are citizens of the United States? 

Note — The Naturalization Law will be found on page 162. 

20 . When do children whose parents are naturalized become citizens? 

21 . What is a bankrupt ? 

22 . What is the Bankrupt Law? 

23 . What bankrupts cannot take advantage of the law? 

24 . What is a mint? 

25 . Where are the United States mints? 

26 . What is the law relative to the purity of the gold and silver coin 
of the United States? 

27 . What did Congress do in 1836 relative to weights and measures? 

28 . When was the metric system legalized? 

29 . What was done in 1876 relative to the metric system? 

30 . What is the “secret service” of the United States? 

31. What are government securities? 


32. Who established the post-office system? By what authority? 

33. By what authority has Congress aided railroad and other trans* 
portation companies in building their roads? 

34. What is the copyright law ? 

35. For what period is a copyright good ? 

36. What is the patent law? 

37. For how long is a patent granted ? 

38. Mention some important inventions which have been patented. 

39. What is the “law of nations” ? 

40. How are ships that sail under a national flag regarded ? 

41 The oceans or high seas are considered what ? 

42. May foreign ambassadors and consuls be disturbed during then 
official residence in this country ? Why ? 

43. Who has the power of declaring war ? 

44. What are privateers? 

45. In future wars may we use privateers? 

46. Under the Articles of Confederation could the United States raise 
armies ? 

47. Can Congress raise an army? 

48. Give an instance in which it has done so. 

49. For what length of time can the appropriations for the army be 
made ? Why ? 

50. For what purpose is the regular army? 

51. Who provides for the navy? 

52. By what authority are rivers and harbors improved, and light¬ 
houses, lightships, beacons, and buoys established? 

53. What are the “articles of war?” 

54. Of how many officers does a general court-martial consist ? 

55. What is the vote for conviction in a court-martial ? 

56. What is the result in case of a tie ? 

57. What are the militia ? 

58. Can the militia be called into the service of the United States? 

59. Who governs the District of Columbia ? 

60. When land for forts, arsenals, magazines, and dock-yards is ceded 
by a State to the United States, how is it governed ? 

61. Under what authority was paper money issued during the Civil War? 

62. Under what authority was the Embargo Act passed in 1807? 


CHAPTER VII. 

POWERS DENIED CONGRESS. 

Section 8, with its eighteen clauses, which we have just 
discussed, tells us what Congress can do. It contains a list 
of powers that originally belonged to each and every state 
in the Union, and which each of these states has surrendered 
to the central Government of the United States, for the 
benefit and welfare of all the states taken together. 

What Congress Cannot Do. —Section 9 , with its eight 
clauses, tells us what Congress cannot do. It gives a list 
of the rights that each state has not surrendered. If Congress 
should pass a law to do anything forbidden in this section, 
the matter would be taken to the Supreme Court, and there 
tried and declared unconstitutional. 

Section 9. Clause 1. " The migration or importa¬ 

tion of such persons as any of the States now exist¬ 
ing shall think proper to admit shall not be prohib¬ 
ited by the Congress prior to the year one thousand 
eight hundred and eight; but a tax or duty may be 
imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten dol¬ 
lars for each person.” 

The word persons in this clause refers to slaves. The 
wdiole clause, in fact, refers to trade in slaves with foreign 
countries. Congress passed an act in 1807 to take effect 


58 


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59 


January, 1808, prohibiting the importation of slaves, and 
in 1820 slave trade with foreign countries was declared to 
be piracy punishable with death. 

This clause no longer has any weight in the Constitution, 
as all slavery is now unlawful in the United States. 

Clause 2. " The privilege of the writ of habeas 

corpus shall not be suspended, unless when, in cases 
of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require 
it.” 

Habeas Corpus.— The right of habeas coipus is founded 
on the old English Common Law and was in 1679 included 
in the Acts of Parliament. It is a right which every citizen 
who may be imprisoned accused of crime has, of going 
before a court in order that his case may be inquired into 
by the court. If there is no just cause for his imprisonment, 
he must be released. 

Tyrannical governments have sometimes arrested and im¬ 
prisoned men without cause; and when this right of habeas 
corpus did not exist, the prisoner could not compel a judge to 
grant him a hearing and very likely would remain in prison 
till he died. 

In time of war the territory covered by armies in action 
is considered under military or martial law and then this 
right is suspended. 

December 16, 1814, during the war with England, Jack- 
son declared New Orleans under martial law and the privi¬ 
lege of the writ of habeas corpus was suspended. Lincoln 
also suspended the writ at times during the Civil War. 


60 


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Claused. "No bill of attainder, or ex-post-facto 
law, shall be passed.” 

Bill of Attainder and Ex-post-facto Law.—A bill of 

attainder is a law inflicting death or other punishment with¬ 
out a judicial trial. The case of a man accused of treason 
or any other crime must be passed upon by a court, and 
Congress can make no law inflicting punishment on him 
without a trial by a court. 

An ex-post-facto law is one that makes an act a crime 
which was not a crime when the act was committed, or that 
makes the punishment of a crime greater than it was when 
the crime was committed. 

If on and before January 1, 1913, it was not unlawful for 
a citizen to enter a United States fort, and Congress should 
pass a law in 1913 making it a crime to have entered the 
fort in 1912, this would be an ex-post-facto law. 

Clause 4. "No capitation or other direct tax shall 
be laid, unless in proportion to the census or enum¬ 
eration hereinbefore directed to be taken.” 

Poll Tax.—A capitation tax is a tax not on property, 
but on the man; it is sometimes called a poll (head) tax, 
and if this tax is laid it must be in proportion to the census 
we have before described. The United States has never 
laid a capitation tax; the state of Massachusetts assesses a 
poll tax of two dollars on every male inhabitant above the 
age of twenty years. 

Clause 5. "No tax or duty shall be laid on articles 
exported from any State.” 


CIVICS FOR. ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


61 


England restricted the colonists in shipping their products 
out of the country, and as an export tax would be a restric¬ 
tion on the states in their trade with foreign countries, 
without any corresponding benefit to the states, the right 
to impose an export tax was denied Congress. 

Clause 6. "No preference shall be given by any 
regulation of commerce or revenue to the ports of 
one State over those of another; nor shall vessels 
bound to or from one State be obliged to enter, clear, 
or pay duties, in another.” 

We see by the above clause that all states stand on the 
same basis as to foreign trade, and that there is free trade 
between the states. 

We have seen how under the Articles of Confederation 
New York State laid a duty on the produce of the New 
Jersey farmers; this clause forbids any such duties, and 
guarantees free trade between the states. 

Clause'l- "No money shall be drawn from the 
treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made 
by law: and a regular statement and account of the 
receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be 
published from time to time.” 

Appropriations of Money.—The president could not 
draw his salary unless Congress made an appropriation 
for it. Each year Congress passes bills making the appro¬ 
priations for carrying on the Government, specifying in 
detail the amounts for all the departments of the Govern¬ 
ment. 


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Each year the Treasury Department publishes a report 
of the money received and expended, tells whence it was 
received and for what it was spent. Volumes of these 
reports can be found in the Congressional Library. 

Claused. "No title of nobility shall be granted 
by the United States; and no person holding any 
office of profit or trust under them shall without the 
consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emol¬ 
ument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any 
king, prince, or foreign state.” 

Titles of Nobility.—Absence of a nobility or titled aris¬ 
tocracy is one of the foundation stones of a republic. There¬ 
fore the granting of such titles is prohibited, and Congress 
has passed a law which makes a foreigner holding such a 
title renounce it before he can become a citizen of the 
United States. This clause also is a guard against bribery 
of the officers of the United States by foreign powers. 


QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER VII 


1. Section 8 tells what? 

2. How many clauses has it? 

3. To whom did the powers it mentions originally belong? 

4. Section 9 tells what? 

5. To whom do the powers denied to the United States in this Section 
belong ? 

6. If Congress should pass a law forbidden by this section, what would 
happen ? 

7. When was the importation of slaves prohibited? 

8. What law was passed relative to slavery in 1820? 

9. Has Clause 1, Section 9, any weight now? 

10. Habeas corpus is founded on what? 

11. What is the writ of habeas corpus? (See Magna Charta in glossary.) 

12. When is this right suspended? 

13. What two presidents have suspended the writ? 

14. What is a bill of attainder? (Consult the glossary also.) 

15. What is an ex-post-jacto law? Illustrate. 

16. What is a capitation tax? How must it be laid? 

17. Has the United States ever laid a capitation tax? 

18. What State has? 

19. Can an export tax be laid? 

20. Why ? 

21. Is free trade guaranteed between the States? 

22. How are the necessary appropriations of money made for carry¬ 
ing on the government ? 

23. Can the United States grant a title of nobility? 

24. What does the Constitution provide as to the acceptance by United 
States officials of presents or titles from foreign States? 





































































































































■ 














CHAPTER VIII. - 
POWERS DENIED THE STATES. 

Sections 8 and 9 have told us what the United States 
Government is allowed to do, and what it is not allowed to 
do by the states ; and as the Constitution is an agreement 
between the central Government of the United States and 
the individual states, there must of course be some acts 
that the individual states cannot perform. Section 10 
informs us of the powers denied the states. Should any 
state pass a law, or do any act denied it in this section, 
such law or act could be declared of no effect by the United 
States Supreme Court. The states are prohibited from 
emitting bills of credit, yet the State of Missouri after it 
was admitted passed an act permitting the issue of bills of 
credit, and the matter being brought to the United States 
Supreme Court, the act was declared unconstitutional and 
of no effect. 

Section 10. Clause 1. "No State shall enter into 
any treaty, alliance, or confederation; grant letters 
of marque and reprisal; coin money; emit bills of 
credit; make anything but gold and silver coin a ten¬ 
der in payment of debts; pass any bill of attainder, 
ex-post-facto law, or law impairing the obligation of 
contracts; or grant any title of nobility.” 

This clause leaves no doubt that the treaty making power 
belongs to the United States, that the United States only 

63 


64 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


can commission privateers, and that the control of the 
issuing of money is also in the central Government. 

The Dartmouth College Case.—The State of New 
Hampshire passed a law taking the powers of the trustees 
of Dartmouth College from them, and placing it in the control 
of the State Government. The trustees appealed to the 
Supreme Court of United States, Daniel Webster acting 
as attorney for the trustees. The Court declared the act 
of the state unconstitutional and void, as it impaired the 
obligation of a contract. 

Clause 2. "No State shall, without the consent 
of the Congress, lay any imposts or duties on im¬ 
ports, or exports, except what may be absolutely 
necessary for executing its inspection laws; and the 
net produce of all duties and imposts laid by any 
State on imports or exports shall be for the use of 
the treasury of the United States, and all such laws 
shall be subject to the revision and control of the 
Congress.” 

The United States Controls Imports.— Under the 
Articles of Confederation each state laid duties on imports, 
some high, some low, and confusion resulted. This clause 
leaves the power to lay duties on imports with the United 
States, except for inspection purposes. In some states men 
are appointed to inspect food products that may be im¬ 
ported into the state, and the cost of this inspection can 
be collected by the state. 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


65 


Clause 3. w No State shall, without the consent of 
Congress, lay any duty of tonnage, keep troops or 
ships-of-war in time of peace, enter into any agree¬ 
ment or compact with another State or with a foreign 
power, or engage in war, unless actually invaded, or 
in such imminent danger as will not admit of delay.’’ 

Duty of tonnage means duty on ships. It can readily 
be observed from this clause that Congress has the sole 
power of laying duties. 

Keeping troops in time of peace does not refer to the 
militia, who are not kept by the state unless in its pay and 
in actual service : this clause leaves the whole war-making 
power in the hands of Congress. The states are forbidden 
by this clause to enter into any agreement with another 
state, because the constitution is the agreement that binds 
the states together, and any other compact would tend to 
destroy it. There was for some years after the Revolution 
fear that, on account of our weakness, some European nation 
would obtain control of some of the states, and the states 
were forbidden to make any agreement or compact with a 
foreign power, thus leaving all diplomatic intercourse in 
control of the United States. 

We have now finished the study of Article I. of the Consti¬ 
tution which has to do entirely with the legislature — the 
law-making power of the Government. After the laws are 
made they must be enforced and executed, and some power 
must be devised for this purpose. The Constitutional 
Convention made every provision for this executive power 
in Article II., which we will now proceed to consider. 
























































































QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER VIII 


1. Of what does Section io inform us? 

2. What would happen if a State passed a law prohibited by this Section. 
Give an instance. 

3. Where does the treaty-making power lie ? 

4. Who only can commission privateers? 

5. The issuance of money is with whom? 

6. What is the Dartmouth College case ? 

7. Import duties, except for inspection purposes, are imposed by 
whom? 

8. Where a State inspects food products imported into the State, 
how can the State provide for the cost of inspection ? 

9. What is duty on tonnage? 

10. Who has power to lay this duty? 

11. Does “Keeping troops in times of peace” refer to the militia? 

12. Clause 3 leaves the war-making power where ? 

13. Why are States forbidden to enter into any agreement with another 
State ? 

14. Why are States forbidden to enter with any agreement with a foreign 
power? 


CHAPTER IX. 

THE PRESIDENT. 

In considering Article II., which has to do with the execu¬ 
tive function of the Government , we must bear in mind that 
this function calls for power to perform acts and enforce 
laws. 

In providing for this function the framers of the Constitu¬ 
tion were confronted with a difficult task, as, while it is 
necessary to give the power to some individual or set of 
individuals, this grant of power must be so limited that it 
cannot become tyranny in the hands of an evil person or 
persons. 

The Constitution, as will be seen by this Article II., grants 
the executive power to one person, and designates his 
qualifications, manner of election and term of office, and 
specifies his powers and duties. We have learned in 
Article I. that Congress has power to impeach and to try 
the executive officer, should he overstep his powers or fail 
in his duty. 

Article II. 

Section 1. Clause 1. w The executive power shall 
be vested in a President of the United States of 
America. He shall hold his office during the term 
of four years, and, together with the Vice-President 
chosen for the same term, be elected as follows: 


66 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


67 


Claused. "Each State shall appoint, in such 
manner as the legislature thereof may direct, a num¬ 
ber of electors, equal to the whole number of sena¬ 
tors and representatives to which the State may be 
entitled in the Congress; but no senator or represen¬ 
tative, or persons holding any office of trust or profit 
under the United States shall be appointed an 
elector.” 

Clause 3 . " The electors shall meet in their respec¬ 

tive States, and vote by ballot for two persons, of whom 
one, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same 
State with themselves; and they shall make a list of 
all the persons voted for, and of the number of votes 
for each, which list they shall sign and certify, and 
transmit, sealed, to the seat of the Government of the 
United States, directed to the President of the 
Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the 
presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, 
open all the certificates: and the votes shall then be 
counted. The person having the greatest number of 
votes shall be President, if such number be a major¬ 
ity of the whole number of electors appointed; and 
if there be more than one who have such a majority ? 
and have an equal number of votes, then the House 
of Representatives shall immediately choose by ballot 
one of them for President; and if, no person having 
a majority, then, from the five highest on the list, the 


68 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


said House shall, in like manner, choose the Presi¬ 
dent; but, in choosing the President, the votes shall 
be taken by States, the representation from each 
state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose 
shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds 
of the States; and a majority of all the States shall be 
necessary to a choice. In every case, after the choice 
of the President, the person having the greatest num¬ 
ber of votes of the electors shall be the Vice-Presi¬ 
dent. But, if there should remain two or more who 
have equal votes, the Senate shall choose from them, 
by ballot, the Vice-President.” 

The Electoral College. Clause 2 provides for a num¬ 
ber of men from each state, all of whom are to meet together 
and vote for two natural-born citizens for President and 
Vice-President. The men are to be appointed as the state 
legislature may direct. The different state legislatures 
have passed laws by which these electors are at the pre¬ 
sent time elected by the people in the same manner as 
other civil officers are elected. It will be noticed that 
citizenship is not a qualification,of a presidential elector. 

Weakness of Clause 3 as Displayed in the First 
Four Elections. — Let us follow out the actual working of 
Clause 3 during the early history of the United States. At 
the first election Washington received 69 votes and John 
Adams 34 . These being the two highest of all those voted 
for, Washington was declared President and John Adams 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


69 


Vice-President. At the next election in 1792 Washington 
was highest on the list with 132 votes and Adams next with 
77 . They were accordingly elected President and Vice- 
President a second time. Washington refused to be a can¬ 
didate for a third time and thus set an example which has 
since been followed, no third-term candidate as yet having 
been voted for. There is, however, no law to prevent a 
President being elected three or more times. 

At the election in 1796 John Adams of the Federalist 
Party received 71 votes, and Thomas Jefferson of the 
* Republican Party received 68 votes; and, being the two 
highest on the list voted for, Adams was elected President 
and Jefferson Vice-President. Here we see a weak point 
in this clause—if Adams had died, Jefferson, who belonged 
to the opposite political party, the party in the minority, 
would have become President; and during four years the 
two highest offices in the Government were held by men of 
different political beliefs and thoughts. This did not lead 
to harmony and good feeling at the head of the Government. 

In 1800 Thomas Jefferson received 73 votes and Aaron 
Burr received 73 votes — a tie. The election according to 
this clause devolved on the House of Representatives, and 
there Jefferson received the votes’ of ten states and Burr 
received the votes of four states. The former was accord¬ 
ingly elected President and the latter Vice-President. 

Amendment of Clause 3. — In the meantime the people 
discovered the weakness of this clause, and before the next 
election an amendment (the 12th) was added to the Consti- 

* Now known as the Democratic Tarty. 


70 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


tution correcting this defect. -This amendment changes the 
method of voting by the electors so that they vote for one 
man for President, and another man for Vice-President; 
and if the highest on the list of candidates for President 
does not receive a majority, the House of Representatives 
elects one from the highest three on the list. 

John Quincy Adams was elected President in this manner 
by the House of Representatives, the only President so 
elected. 

If the highest on the list of those voted for by the elec¬ 
tors for Vice-President does not receive a majority, the 
Senate from the two highest on the list elects a Vice-Presi¬ 
dent. Richard M. Johnson was thus elected by the Senate, 
although at the same election Martin Van Buren was elected 
President by a majority of the electoral votes. 

This method of voting by the electors has now become a 
mere form, because the candidates are picked out by the 
people; and the electors are in honor bound to vote for the 
candidate of the people or party who elected them. The 
President and Vice-President therefore come nearer to 
being elected by popular vote than was the intention of the 
framers of the Constitution. 

The Election of 1876. — In 1876 Florida and Louisiana 
each sent in two sets of electoral returns, one set voting for 
Mr. Tilden’s electors, and one set voting for Mr. Hayes’ 
electors. As there was no provision in the Constitution 
and no law on the statute books for a case like this, Con¬ 
gress appointed a commission of fifteen, five from the House 
of Representatives, five from the Senate, and five from the 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


71 


Supreme Court. This commission decided by a vote of 
eight to seven in favor of Mr. Hayes’ electors. Congress in 
1887 passed a law applicable to cases of this kind. 

Clause 4. " The Congress may determine the time 

of choosing the Electors, and the day on which they 
shall give their votes; which day shall be the same 
throughout the United States.” 

At present the electors are voted for on the Tuesday 
next after the first Monday in November, and the electors 
vote on the second Monday in January. 

Clause 5. " No person, except a natural-born citi¬ 

zen or a citizen of the United States at the time of the 
adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the 
office of President; neither shall any person be eligible 
to that office who shall not have attained to the age 
of thirty-five years, and been fourteen years a resi¬ 
dent within the United States.” 

The above clause is self explanatory; by it the office is 
guarded against foreign intrigue and corruption. The re¬ 
quired residence of fourteen years allows the citizens to 
gain a knowledge of the man and his attachment to his 
country. 

Clause 6. "In case of the removal of the Presi¬ 
dent from office, or of his death, resignation, or ina¬ 
bility to discharge the powers and duties of the said 
office, the same shall devolve on the Vice-President; 


72 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


and the Congress may by law provide for the case of 
removal, death, resignation, or inability, both of the 
President and Vice-President, declaring what officer 
shall then act as President, and such officer shall act 
accordingly until the disability be removed, or a 
President shall be elected.” 

Law of Succession. —Five Presidents have died in 
office and have been succeeded by Vice-Presidents ; William 
H. Harrison was succeeded by John Tyler in 1841. Zachary 
Taylor was succeeded by Millard Fillmore in 1850. Abra¬ 
ham Lincoln was succeeded by Andrew Johnson in 1865, 
James A. Garfield by Chester A. Arthur in 1881, and Wm. 
McKinley was succeeded by Theodore Roosevelt in 1901. 
There has never been a vacancy in both offices at the same 
time. Congress has provided by law if such a case should 
occur, that the members of the cabinet in the order of the 
creation of the office shall act as President, till another shall 
be elected. This order is as follows : Secretary of State, 
Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of War, Attorney 
General, Postmaster General, Secretary of the Navy, Secre¬ 
tary of the Interior, Secretary of Agriculture, Secretary 
of Commerce, and Secretary of Labor. 

In the event of a cabinet officer acting as President, a new 
election would beheld, the next November, on the Tuesday 
following the first Monday. He could not serve out the 
full presidential term as does the Vice-President. 

Clause 7. ” The President shall, at stated times, 
receive for his services a compensation, which shall 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


73 


neither be increased nor diminished during the period 
for which he shall have been elected; and he shall 
not receive within that period any other emolument 
from the United States, or any of them.” 

Salary of the President. — Until President Grant’s 
Second term the salary of the President was twenty-five 
thousand dollars a year. During Grant’s first term an 
act was passed making the salary fifty thousand dollars a 
year. In March, 1909, it was made $75,000. The President 
is given a residence and is furnished some servants. The 
provisions in this clause concerning increase of salary during 
his term of office and emolument from the United States or 
any state are to guard against bribery. 

Claused. "Before he enter on the execution of his 
office, he shall take the following oath or affirmation: 
'I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully 
execute the office of President of the United States; 
and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, 
and defend the Constitution of the United States.’ ” 

All Vice-Presidents who have succeeded to the office of 
President have taken this oath. 

Section 2. Clause 1. " The President shall be the 

commander-in-chief of the army and navy of the 
United States, and of the militia of the several States 
when called into the actual service of the United 
States; he may require the opinion, in writing, of the 
principal officer in each of the executive depart* 


74 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


merits, upon any subject relating to the duties of their 
respective offices; and he shall have power to grant 
reprieves and pardons for offences against the United 
States, except in cases of impeachment.” 

The President’s War Powers. —As the President is the 
executive or enforcing function of the Government, it is 
proper that he should be commander-in-chief of the army 
and navy. As yet no President has acted on the field of 
battle ; but in time of war, Presidents in office at the time 
have issued many orders to both naval and military officers. 
The President generally issues his orders through the exec¬ 
utive departments. The heads of the executive departments 
compose the cabinet. These were enumerated when we 
considered the succession to the Presidency in case of 
vacancy in the offices of President and Vice-President. 

In 1898 President McKinley, through the head of the 
Navy Department, Secretary Long, ordered Admiral Dewey 
to find and destroy the Spanish fleet, which order the Admiral 
carried out with a thoroughness hitherto unknown in naval 
history. 

In 1846 President Polk ordered General Taylor to march 
the United States army across the Nueces River and go to 
the Rio Grande on the Mexican frontier. This was the first 
military move in the Mexican War. Congress soon after 
declared that war existed. 

The President as commander-in-chief in time of war can 
make use of so called war measures which will tend to place 
the enemy at a disadvantage. 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


75 


President Lincoln in 1863 issued the Emancipation Pro¬ 
clamation as a war measure. As this freed the slaves of 
those at war with the United States it was evidently to the 
disadvantage of the enemy. 

The Heads of Departments, or the Cabinet. — The 

heads of departments in addition to special reports made at 
the request of the President, now make annual reports which 
are printed for the information of the people. 

The Secretary of State reports on our relations with 
foreign countries, concerning negotiations and correspon¬ 
dence with them, these affairs being in his charge. 

The report of the Secretary of the Treasury contains 
information as to the amount of money collected and ex¬ 
pended, the amount of the debt, interest on the debt, the 
amount of money on hand, and all other matters relating 
to the finances of the nation. 

The Secretary of War is head of the war department and 
his annual reports show in detail everything connected with 
the military service. 

The Attorney-General reports as to the condition of the 
affairs of justice, it being the duty of his department to 
attend to all the law business in which the United States 
may be interested. His department prosecutes all breaches 
of the United States laws, which come before the Supreme 
Court, and gives legal opinions and advice to the President 
on request. 

The Postmaster General reports on all matters connected 
with carrying the mails. 

The Secretary of the Navy reports on the condition of the 


76 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


navy. This department is directly under his immediate 
control and includes the ships, docks, dockyards, naval 
depots and arsenals. 

The Secretary of the Interior has charge of the public 
lands, surveys, explorations, pensions, patents, and trans¬ 
actions with the Indians ; and on all these matters he makes 
annual reports. 

The Secretary of Agriculture superintends all the agricul¬ 
tural interests of the country, distributes seeds, makes 
experiments in regard to new methods of cultivation and 
reports the results of all these transactions. These reports 
when printed are distributed among the farmers, and tend 
to the general welfare of the country at large. The weather 
reports are also in charge of the Secretary of Agriculture. 

The Secretary of Commerce reports on the condition of 
commerce and inland transportation ; it is hirs duty to see 
that the transportation companies conduct their business in 
a lawful manner. 

The Secretary of Labor reports on labor conditions. He 
also has charge of naturalization. 

Each of these secretaries receives a salary of eight thou¬ 
sand dollars per year, and they meet on appointed days 
with the President to discuss the affairs of the nation. 

We shall learn that the individual state governments are 
very similar to that of the United States ; but this feature 
of a number of secretaries acting as a cabinet or advisory 
council is entirely wanting in the state governments. In fact, 
this feature is nowhere contemplated in the United States 
Constitution, and is the result of gradual growth. In the 
early history of our country there were but three secretaries. 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


77 


The Pardoning Power. —The last sentence of Clause 1 
refers to the President’s power to pardon. This power 
exists in all good governments and is generally in the hands 
of the executive department. President Madison pardoned 
General William Hull, who had been sentenced to be shot 
for cowardice in the War of 1812. Twelve years after 
being pardoned, Hull proved to the country that his con¬ 
viction was an error. • 

President Lincoln in 1863 issued a pardon to certain 
of the southern people who had been in rebellion against 
the. United States; and after the Civil War President 
Johnson issued pardons at three different times granting 
amnesty and the. rights of citizenship to many of those 
persons who had been engaged in the war against the 
Union. 

Claused. "He shall have power, by and with the 
advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, 
provided two-thirds of the Senators present concur; 
and he shall nominate, and by and with the advice 
and consent of the Senate shall appoint ambassadors, 
other public ministers, and consuls, judges of the 
Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United 
States whose appointments are not herein otherwise 
provided for, and which shall be established by law; 
but the Congress may by law vest the appointment 
of such inferior officers as they think proper in the 
President alone, in the courts of law or in the heads 
of departments.” 


78 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


Treaties are usually negotiated by the President or his 
representatives and then sent to the Senate for their consent. 

In like manner the names of men appointed to the vari¬ 
ous offices of the government are sent to the Senate for 
their approval. The action of the Senate is more that of 
consenting or refusing than of advising. 

Civil Service Laws. —In accordance with this clause 
Congress has vested the power of appointment to many 
inferior offices, in the heads of departments, and has passed 
acts called Civil Service laws, whereby the applicants for 
such offices are compelled to pass competitive examinations, 
showing fitness for the position sought. These laws also 
insure the successful applicant the right to hold the position 
undisturbed by political pressure as long as he is fit to do 
the required work. 

Clause 3. "The President shall have power to fill 
up all vacancies that may happen during the recess 
of the Senate by granting commissions, which shall 
expire at the end of their next session.” 

Filling Vacancies -This clause does away with the 

necessity of calling a special session of the Senate to ratify 
appointments, which may become necessary on account of 
the death of ambassadors, judges or other officers, while 
Congress is not in session. When the Senate meets, how¬ 
ever, in the next regular session, an appointment must be 
made by the President and confirmed by the Senate to fill the 
place of the one made ad interim . 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


79 


Section 3. w He shall, from time to time, give to 
the Congress, information of the state of the Union, 
and recommend to their consideration such measures 
as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, 
on extraordinary occasions, con je ne both Houses, or 
either of them, and, in case of disagreement between 
them with respect to the time of adjournment, he 
may adjourn them to such time as he shall think 
proper; he shall receive ambassadors and other public 
ministers; he shall take care that the laws be faith¬ 
fully executed, and shall commission all the officers 
of the United States.” 

The President’s Message. — It has become a custom 
for the President to send a message to Congress at the 
beginning of each regular session, informing them of our 
relations with foreign nations and of our internal condi¬ 
tions ; these messages are often accompanied by reports 
from each member of the Cabinet giving the condition of 
his department. 

The Monroe Doctrine. — President Monroe, in one of 
his messages to Congress, informed them that the Ameri¬ 
can Continent must not hereafter be considered as territory 
in which sovereignty could be acquired by European nations, 
either by colonization or otherwise. The substance of this 
message has since been known as the Monroe Doctrine, and 
while it never became part of a treaty or a statute, it has 
been recognized by American statesmen as an unwritten law. 


80 


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It was in pursuance of this doctrine that the United 
States Government, after the Civil War, notified the 
Emperor of France to withdraw his troops from Mexico; 
and Maximilian, the usurper, being thus deprived of 
foreign assistance, was dethroned and shot by the 
Mexicans. 

Extra Sessions. — President Martin Van Buren (1837) 
called an extra session of Congress to consider ways and 
means to improve the condition of the country which had 
just passed through a financial panic. He sent a message 
to them recommending the establishment of the inde¬ 
pendent treasury system. 

The two Houses of Congress have never had a disagree- 
ment as to time of adjournment, so it has never been nec¬ 
essary for the President to exercise his prerogative of 
adjourning them. 

As negotiations with foreign nations are conducted by 
the President, he is, of course, the proper official, and his 
the proper department of government, to receive ambassa¬ 
dors and representatives of other governments. 

This clause emphasizes the fact that the Presidential 
office is the executive department of the Government by 
declaring that he shall take care that the laws be faithfully 
executed. 

As the President, with the Senate, appoints all the 
officers of the Government, it becomes his duly to give 
them commissions, which are documents authorizing them 
to act. 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


81 


Section 4. ” The President, Vice-President, and 

all civil officers of the United States, shall be 
removed from office on impeachment for, and con¬ 
viction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and 
misdemeanors.” 

This clause designates who may be impeached and 
makes it mandatory that those impeached on conviction 
shall he removed from office; the offences for which an 
official may be impeached are also here enumerated. 


QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER IX 


1. Article II has to do with what functions of government? 

2. Why did the framers of the Constitution find Article II a difficult 
task? 

3. The executive power is vested in whom? 

4. What is the Electoral College, and what are its duties? 

5. Is citizenship a qualification for an elector? 

6. What was the weakness in Clause 3? 

7. How was this defect corrected ? 

8. What was the eight-to-seven commission? 

9. When are electors voted for? 

10. When do the electors vote? 

11. What are the qualifications for the presidency? 

12. What presidents have died in office, and who succeeded them? 

13. What is the Law of Succession? 

14. In the event of a cabinet officer succeeding to the presidency, could 
he fill out the presidential term? 

15. What is the salary of the President? 

16. May his salary be increased or diminished during his term of 
office? 

17. May he receive any other emolument? 

18. What oath of office must the President take? 

19. Who is commander-in-chief of the army and navy? 

20. What order did President McKinley issue in 1898? 

20. President Polk in 1846? 

21. What war measure did President Lincoln issue in 1863? 

22. Who compose the President’s Cabinet? 

23. Define the duties of the following Cabinet officers: 

The Secretary of State. 

The Secretary of the Treasury. 

The Secretary of War. 

The Attorney-General. 


The Postmaster-General. 

The Secretary of the Navy. 

The Secretary of the Interior. 

The Secretary of Agriculture. 

The Secretary of Commerce. 

The Secretary of Labor. 

24 . What is the salary of each of these? 

25 . Does this “ Cabinet ” feature obtain in the State Governments? 

26 . In whom is the pardoning power vested? 

27 . Give an instance in which a President used this power. 

28 . Treaties are negotiated by whom? Confirmed by whom? 

29 . What officers of the United States are appointed by the President 
“by and with the consent of the Senate”? 

30 . What are civil service laws? 

31 . How may the President fill vacancies? 

32 . What is the President’s message? 

33 . What is the Monroe Doctrine? 

34 . When and why were the French ordered by us to withdraw from 
Mexico? 

35 . Why did President Van Buren call an extra session Of Congress? 

36 . Why should the President receive ambassadors? 

37 . What sentence in this clause emphasizes the particular duty of 
the President? 

38 . What is an officer’s commission? 

39 . What officers of the United States may be impeached? 

40 . For what may they be impeached? 

41 . On impeachment and conviction is the accused capable of hold¬ 
ing an office under the Government? 


CHAPTER X. 

THE COURTS OR JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. 

From Articles I. and II. we have learned the make up, 
powers Liid duties of the Legislative and Executive func¬ 
tions of the Government. We now know the qualifications 
of Representatives and Senators, we know what powers they 
have to make laws for the United States, and what powers 
are denied them, what privileges are theirs, and their con¬ 
nection as law makers with the President. 

We h*r r e been informed as to what manner of man may 
be elected President, how he may be elected, and what he 
may or may not do in enforcing the laws of the United 
States after he is elected. 

Necessity of the Courts. —In Article III. we shall learn 
the composition of the judicial department of the Govern¬ 
ment. The framers of the Constitution knew from the 
experience of mankind that differences of opinion as to 
the meaning of the clauses in the Constitution would arise, 
that there would be disagreements among citizens and states 
as to the interpretation of the laws of Congress ; and they 
therefore established the judicial department as a court 
which could decide and settle these differences and dis¬ 
agreements. 

They were also aware that in the future, as in the past, 
men would be either rightfully or wrongfully accused of 


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83 


crime, and a court thus established could decide as to the 
guilt or innocence of the accused, and punish him if con¬ 
victed. 

Article III. 

Section 1. "The judicial power of the United 
States shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and in 
such inferior courts, as the Congress may, from time 
to time, ordain and establish. The judges, both of 
the Supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their 
offices during good behavior; and shall, at stated 
times, receive for their services a compensation, 
which shall not be diminished during their continu¬ 
ance in office.” 

The United States Judicial System. — The Supreme 
Court now consists of eight associate judges and a chief 
judge. Congress under this clause has established inferior 
courts from time to time. The whole United States is 
divided into nine circuits. In each circuit is established a 
circuit court; each of the circuit courts has a judge of the 
Supreme Court assigned to it, besides three circuit judges, 
except two circuits which have only two circuit judges each. 

The United States is further divided into seventy-six 
judicial districts, each presided over by a district court judge. 

As the United States cannot be sued by a citizen or a 
state, Congress established in 1855 a Court of Claims, to hear 
and determine claims against the United States. If any 
such claims should be established against the United States 
it would be necessary for Congress to pass a law appropri- 


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ating the money to pay them, as we have already learned 
that no money can be drawn from the treasury unless 
through an appropriation of Congress. 

This court consists of one chief judge and four associate 
judges. 

Congress has also established a Court of Private Land 
Claims, consisting of one chief judge and four associate 
judges; this Court determines controversies involving a 
certain class of claims arising under United States laws 
relating to land grants in the recently acquired territory of 
the United States. 

Cases may be appealed from the District and Circuit 
Courts to the Supreme Court for final judgment. The 
Supreme Court became so crowded with these appeals that 
in 1891 Congress established a Circuit Court of Appeals to 
relieve the Supreme Court. This Court consists of a 
Supreme Court judge, a Circuit Court judge and a judge 
appointed for this particular Court. 

Congress has also established courts in the District of 
Columbia having jurisdiction of the District, and has also 
established courts in the territories with territorial jurisdic¬ 
tion. 

From time to time special courts have bee.n created by 
Congress for considering special cases. The court of Span¬ 
ish War Claims is an instance of this kind. 

The Judges.— All the judges of the regular courts are 
appointed by the President with the consent of the Senate 
and hold office during good behavior, and are thus depen¬ 
dent on no influence for continuing in office. The fact 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


85 


that their pay cannot be diminished during their continuance 
in office also makes them independent of Congress. 

These judges, appointed by the President and confirmed 
by the Senate, are removed from all political pressure, so 
far as income and tenure of office are concerned, and hence 
should render impartial and unbiased opinions. 

Court Officers. —The officers of the United States Courts 
are Clerks, Marshals, a Reporter of the Supreme Court, and 
Attorneys. Each court appoints its own clerk. The Dis¬ 
trict Attorney and Marshal are appointed by the President 
with the consent of the Senate. The Clerk keeps and 
cares for the records of all the proceedings of the court, the 
Marshal is the executive officer of the court and carries out 
the orders and judgments of the court, serves papers and 
makes arrests. The Reporter makes reports of all cases 
decided, and these reports are printed and bound, thus 
forming books of reference to inform lawyers of the way 
law points have been decided. To a certain extent these 
decisions become part of the law of the land. 

Each District has a district attorney who represents the 
United States in all cases in which the Government is a 
party. The United States Courts admit lawyers to practice, 
and when so admitted they become officers of the court. 

Jurisdiction of United States Courts. — Having now 
learned how the court is constituted, let us consider w T hat 
power it has, and in what cases it has jurisdiction. 

Section 2. Clause 1. " The judicial power shall 

extend to all cases in law and equity arising under 


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this Constitution, the laws of the United States, and 
treaties made or which shall be made under their 
authority; to all cases affecting ambassadors, other 
public ministers, and consuls; to all cases of admi¬ 
ralty and maritime jurisdiction; to controversies to 
which the United States shall be a party; to contro¬ 
versies between two or more States; between a State 
and citizens of another State; between citizens of 
different States; between citizens of the same State 
claiming lands under grants of different States, and 
between a State, or the citizens thereof, and foreign 
States, citizens, or subjects.” 

The eleventh amendment to the Constitution provides 
that a citizen of one state cannot sue another state in the 
United States Court. 

We have referred to a Reporter of the Supreme Court: 
Alexander J. Dallas was Reporter of the United States 
Supreme Court from 1789 to 1800 . In the second volume 
of his reports is reported a case tried in the Supreme Court 
in which Chief Justice Jay clearly explains Clause 1 of this 
section. He says : 

Opinion of Chief Justice John Jay. — " The Judicial 
power extends to all cases affecting ambassadors, other 
public ministers, and consuls ; because as these officers are 
of foreign nations whom this nation is bound to protect and 
treat according to the laws of nations, cases affecting them 
ought to be cognizable only by national authority ; 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


87 


" To all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction; 
because as the seas are the joint property of nations, whose 
rights and privileges relative thereto are regulated by the 
laws of nations and treaties, such cases necessarily belong to 
national jurisdiction : 

" To controversies to which the United States shall be a 
party ; because in cases in which the whole people are inter¬ 
ested, it would not be equal or wise to let any one state 
decide and measure out justice due to others : 

" To controversies between two or more states ; because 
domestic tranquillity requires that the contention of states 
should be peacefully terminated by a common judiciary and 
because, in a free country, justice ought not to depend on 
the will of either of the litigants : 

"To controversies between citizens of the same state 
claiming lands under grants of different states; because, as 
the rights of the two states to grant the land are drawn into 
question, neither of the two states ought to decide the con¬ 
troversy : 

" To controversies between a state or the citizens thereof, 
and foreign states, citizens or subjects; because as every 
nation is responsible for the conduct of its citizens toward 
other nations, all questions touching the justice due to for¬ 
eign nations or people ought to be ascertained by and 
depend on national authority.” 

Some Important Cases. —The United States District 
Court tried Aaron Burr for treason in 1807. In 1819 the 
United States Supreme Court decided that the law passed 
by Congress creating the United States Bank is constitu- 


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tional. In 1855 the United States District Court for the 
Eastern District of Pennsylvania tried Henry Hertz for 
hiring persons to go out of the United States to enlist in 
the British foreign legion for the Crimea. This was a case 
arising under the neutrality laws of nations or laws whereby 
one country not at war is bound to prevent its citizens from 
aiding either of the nations who are at war. 

Clause 2. "In all cases affecting ambassadors, 
other public ministers, and consuls, and those in 
which a State shall be party, the Supreme Court shall 
have original jurisdiction. In all the other cases 
before mentioned, the Supreme Court shall have 
appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, 
with such exception and under such regulations as 
the Congress shall make.” 

Original and Appellate Jurisdiction. — When a court 
has original jurisdiction it has authority to try a case or 
matter in dispute without its having been considered in 
any manner in any other court. When a court has appel¬ 
late jurisdiction it considers cases that have been previ¬ 
ously tried in some inferior court, and have been appealed 
to this court of appellate jurisdiction for a final decision. 

The original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court is very 
limited. It meets only at Washington and it would be a hard¬ 
ship for citizens living say, in California, to try their cases 
in Washington; so they are permitted to try them in the 
District Court or Circuit Court in that state. The Constitu¬ 
tion expressly insists in the next clause that crimes againsl 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


89 


the United States shall be tried in the state in which they 
were committed. 

The most important cases tried by the Supreme Court 
have been those heard on appeal from either the Circuit or 
District Courts. The decisions in the Dred Scott case 
which at one time were of the utmost importance, and which 
have already been referred to, were rendered by the 
Supreme Court acting as a Court of Appeals. This Court 
is sometimes called a court of last resort, and a tribunal of 
this kind is embodied in the system of justice adopted by 
every state. 

The words "law” and "fact,” as to the manner they are 
treated by a court, may be explained now. In a trial by a 
jury, the jury, except in a few special cases, only considers 
the facts, the judge or judges interpreting the law ; but 
when the case is appealed to the court of last resort there is 
no jury, and the judges in most cases consider only the law. 

Clause 3. " The trial of all crimes, except in cases 

of impeachment, shall be by jury; and such trial 
shall be held in the state where the said crimes shall 
have been committed; but, when not committed with¬ 
in any state, the trial shall be at such place or places 
as the Congress may by law have directed.” 

A Trial Jury. — A trial jury consists of twelve impartial 
and intelligent men who are selected by the combined judg¬ 
ment of the Court, the District Attorney (in a criminal 
case) and the lawyer of the accused. These men listen to 
the evidence against and for the accused, and to arguments 


00 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


for and against him by the lawyers. The judge decides on 
all matters of law that may arise, rejects unlawful evidence, 
and tells the jury their duties as laid down by the law. The 
jury then retires and after deliberation brings in a verdict 
of conviction or acquittal. If they do not agree, a new trial 
may be had. 

The trial must be held in the state in which the crime is 
committed as that locality is more convenient for all parties 
interested. To force the accused to a distant part of the 
country, would deprive him of the opportunity of obtaining 
witnesses and perhaps the assistance of friends and needed 
counsel. 

Congress has provided by law for the trial of crimes com¬ 
mitted in the territories and on the high seas. In the case 
of a crime committed on the high seas, the trial is held in 
the state at which the vessel first makes port after the crime 
has been committed. 

Section 3. Clause 1. "Treason against the United 
States shall consist only in levying war against them, 
or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and 
comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason 
unless on the testimony of two witnesses, to the same 
overt act, or on confession in open court.” 

Definition of Treason. —We all remember the powerful 
speech of Patrick Henry (1765). in the House of Burgesses 
of Virginia, in which he said: f ' Caesar had his Brutus, 
Charles I. his Cromwell and George 111.”—He was inter¬ 
rupted by his hearers, with cries of " Treason, treason!” 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


91 


According to the law of some countries at that time, the 
use of this language was treason. The framers of the Con¬ 
stitution made a great advance in liberal government, when 
in this clause they limited treason to consist of actual war 
against the Government or the giving aid and comfort to its 
enemies. They were, no doubt, guided in the matter by 
their previous experience with the English and colonial 
government. Making the evidence consist of at least two 
witnesses puts it out of the power of one unscrupulous man 
to condemn as a traitor an innocent citizen. 

Cases of Treason.—An instance of treason in giving aid 
to the enemy happened in the War of 1812. In 1813 Cap¬ 
tain Decatur, in command of two United States war vessels, 
the Macedonian and Hornet , was blockaded in New London 
harbor. He had fixed on the night of December 12 to 
run the blockade. The night was dark and other circum¬ 
stances were favorable. When everything was ready to 
make the attempt, Decatur was informed by some of his 
lookouts that blue signal lights were burning on both sides 
of the river. These lights had been placed there by traitors 
to warn the British blockaders of Decatur’s plan to escape 
to sea with his vessels. The guilty ones were never dis¬ 
covered. There has been but one case of the death penalty 
for treason since the foundation of the government. This 
case was that of William B. Mumford, who in 1862 hauled 
down the United States flag from the mint in New Orleans, 
and afterwards acted in such a manner that General Butler 
had him arrested and tried for treason. He was convicted 
and hanged. 


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Clause 2. w The Congress shall have power to 
declare the punishment of treason; but no attainder 
of treason shall work corruption of blood, or forfeit- 
ture, except during the life of the person attainted.” 

Punishment for Treason. — Congress declared by law 
in 1790 the punishment of treason to he death by hanging. 
In 1862 another law was passed making the punishment 
death or at the discretion of the court imprisonment for five 
years and a fine of ten thousand dollars. The words attain¬ 
der and attainted are in this clause used in the sense of con¬ 
viction and convicted. 

In former times if a father were convicted of treason in 
the life-time of the grandfather, the children could not 
inherit any property from the grandfather, this property all 
being forfeited to the government, thus working injury to the 
innocent children and their descendants, To quote Mr. Madi¬ 
son in the Federalist — "The Convention have restrained 
Congress from extending the consequences of guilt beyond 
the person of its author.” 


QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER X 


1. The Supreme Court of the United States consists of whom? 

2. How many circuits in the United States? 

3. How many courts in each circuit? 

4. How many judges assigned to each Circuit Court? 

5. How many judicial districts in the United States? How presided 
over? 

6. Can the United States be sued by a citizen ? 

7. Can the United States be sued by a State? 

8. How may claims against the United States be heard and deter¬ 
mined ? 

9. The Court of Claims consists of how many judges? 

10. What is the Court of Private Land Claims ? 

11. May cases be appealed from the District and Circuit Courts? 

12. What provision has Congress made for the District of Columbia 
and the territories? 

13. How are the judges appointed? 

14. What are the officers of the courts? 

15. How many district attorneys are appointed for each district? 
His duties? 

16. Can a citizen of one State sue another State in a United States 
court ? 

17. What is the opinion of Chief Justice John Jay as to the judicial 
power? 

18. Cite some important cases heard before the United States courts. 

19. What is original jurisdiction? 

20. What is appellate jurisdiction? 

21. Where must crimes against the United States be tried? 

22. The Supreme Court is sometimes called what? 

23. Does each State have a court of this kind in its system of justice? 

24. Explain the words “law” and “fact.” 

25. What is a trial jury? 


26. On what does a judge decide in a trial ? 

27. If the jury disagrees may a new trial be had? 

28. Why should the trial be held in the State in which the crime is 
committed ? 

29. In case of a crime on the high seas, where must the trial be held ? 

30. What is treason against the United States? 

31. How many witnesses are necessary to convict of treason ? 

32. Give an instance of treason in the War of 1812. One in the Civil 
War. 

33. What is the punishment for treason? 

34. What do the words “attainder” and “attainted” here mean? 
(See glossary.) 

35. In former times, what would happen to the children of one con¬ 
victed of treason ? 

36. Under the Constitution can there be any punishment inflicted on 
any save the person accused of treason ? 


CHAPTER XI. 


DUTIES OF THE UNITED STATES TO THE STATES, AND 
DUTIES OF EACH STATE TO THE OTHER STATES. 

The first three articles of the Constitution which we have 
just discussed, treat of the composition, power and duties 
of Congress, the President and the courts, in whom are 
respectively vested the legislative, executive and judicial 
functions. 

The remaining articles treat of some of the rights of the 
states, and of the citizens, also of the duties of the states to 
one another and to citizens. 

Article IV. 

Section 1. " Full faith and credit shall be given in 

each State to the public acts, records, and judicial 
proceedings of every other State. And the Con¬ 
gress, may by general laws, prescribe the manner in 
which such acts, records, and proceedings shall be 
proved, and the effect thereof.” 

Public Acts of the State. — The public acts of a state 
are the laws enacted by its legislature. The Legislature 
of Colorado has enacted that the legal rate of interest in the 
State is eight per cent. A judgment obtained on a note 
made in Colorado with interest at the legal rate, could be 
collected in New York State, if the maker lived and owned 


93 


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CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


property in that State, although the legal rate in New York 
is only six per cent, because New" York must give "full 
faith and credit” to the "public acts and judicial proceedings” 
of Colorado. 

A Judgment.—When one man has a claim against 
another for money or other property and sues for it in a 
state court, the decision of the court is called a judgment 
and is a record of that court. By this clause every other 
state in the Union is compelled to recognize this judgment 
without any other trial. Congress has enacted that this 
record shall be proved by the judge and the clerk of the 
court witnessing it under the seal of the court. 

Section 2. Clause 1. " The citizens of each State 

shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of 
citizens in the several States.” 

This clause means that a citizen of New Jersey or of any 
other state travelling in New York shall have every privi¬ 
lege that a citizen of New York State has. In other words, 
no state can impose any hardships on a citizen of the United 
States because of the fact that the citizen is not a resident 
of that particular state. 

Clause 2. " A person charged in any State with 

treason, felony or other crime, who shall flee from 
justice, and be found in another State, shall, on 
demand of the executive authority of the State, from 
which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the 
State having jurisdiction of the crime.” 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


95 


Requisition Papers. — In 1793 Congress passed a law 
which in substance provides that the governor of the state 
from which the accused person has fled shall make requisi¬ 
tion on the governor of the state to which the person has 
gone. This requisition must be accompanied by papers show¬ 
ing the charge against the accused, and the proof that he is 
a fugitive from justice. When these papers are correct, the 
accused is delivered to the state whence he fled, there to be 
treated according to the law of that state. 

Clause 3. w ~No person held to service or labor 
in one State under the laws thereof, escaping into 
another, shall, in consequence of any law or regula¬ 
tions therein, be discharged from such service or 
labor, but shall be delivered up on claim of the party 
to whom such service or labor may be due.” 

This clause refers to slavery and, as slavery was abol¬ 
ished by the thirteenth amendment, the clause is not now a 
part of our law. 

Section 3. Clause 1. " New States may be ad¬ 

mitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new 
State shall be formed or erected within the jurisdic¬ 
tion of any other State, nor any State be formed by 
the junction of two or more States, or parts of States, 
without the consent of the Legislatures of the States 
concerned, as well as of the Congress.” 

Territories. — The first state admitted into the Union 
was Vermont, in 1791 . Vermont was at onetime a part of 


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New York and New Hampshire, and was not admitted until 
the legislatures of these states gave their consent. 

Clause 2. w The Congress shall have power to 
dispose of and make all needful rules and regulations 
respecting the territory, or other property, belonging 
to the United States; and nothing in this Constitu¬ 
tion shall be so construed as to prejudice any claims 
of the United States or of any particular State.” 

Authority Over Territories is Vested in Congress. 

—All the territory outside the limits of the original thirteen 
states eventually came under the control of Congress, and 
until this became populous enough to be admitted as states, 
it had to be regulated by some authority. By this clause 
this authority was vested in Congress. It will be noted 
that authority over territories is vested in Congress, not 
in the people of the territory. 

Congress accepted the Ordinance of 1787 as the law gov¬ 
erning the Northwest Territory. The important clause in 
this Ordinance was that slavery should not exist in any 
state that might be erected out of this territory. This had 
an important bearing on the history of the United States. 

Disposition of Territory. —The United States has under 
this clause given land to soldiers and sailors of the various 
wars; it has encouraged the settlement of the frontiers, by 
making the price of large tracts nominal to persons who 
would make their homes on the land. The liberal policy of 
the government in this respect has been a great factor in the 
rapid growth of the country. 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 97 

The Government has promoted the building of railroads 
across wild and unsettled regions by giving land to the rail¬ 
road companies. 

Acting under the powers given it by this clause Congress 
has set aside from the territory of the United States the 
Yellowstone Park, to be a grand public park for the use 
and enjoyment of the people forever. 

Government of Territories. — Congress organizes and 
establishes the government of the territories. The Presi¬ 
dent and the Senate appoint the governor and judges of the 
Supreme Court and some other officers. The people of the 
territory elect the members of the legislature : but all laws 
passed by the territorial government must be submitted to 
Congress for final consideration. The. Territory of Utah 
passed laws permitting polygamy, which were nullified by 
the United States Congress. 

The people of a territory elect one delegate to Congress 
who has the right to speak on measures, but cannot vote. 

Section 4. w The United States shall guarantee to 
every State in this Union a republican form of gov¬ 
ernment, and shall protect each of them against 
invasion, and, on application of the legislature or of 
the executive (when the legislature cannot be con¬ 
vened) against domestic violence.” 

The United States Protects the States. — This clause 
insists that each state shall have a republican form of gov¬ 
ernment. By building forts on the coasts, and organizing 


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an army and a navy, the government has taken steps to 
protect the states against invasion. 

In the war of 1812 the troops guarded the Canada 
frontier, and the ships the coast. 

In 1894 President Cleveland sent United States troops to 
Chicago to quell a riot, thus protecting the State of Illinois 
against domestic violence. He did this, not at the request 
of the legislature or the executive, but on the ground that 
it was necessary to protect the United States Mails. 

Article V. 

w The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both 
Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amend¬ 
ments to this Constitution, or, on the application of 
the legislatures of two-thirds of the several States, 
shall call a convention for proposing amendments, 
which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and 
purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified 
by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several 
States, or by conventions in three-fourths thereof, as 
the one or the other mode of ratification may be pro¬ 
posed by the Congress: Provided that no amend¬ 
ment which may be made prior to the year one thou¬ 
sand eight hundred and eight shall in any manner 
affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section 
of the first article; and that no State, without its 
consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the 
Senate.” 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 99 

Necessity^ Making Amendments. — The makers of 
the Constitution realized that in the course of time progress 
would be made in government as well as in all other crea¬ 
tions of man, and this progress would demand change in 
methods. By inserting this clause they provided a way of 
adding to or changing the Constitution. The final approval 
of three-fourths of the states is necessary for a change, the 
majority being large enough to prevent hasty or careless 
alterations in the Constitution. 

Twenty-one amendments have been proposed at different 
times by two-thirds of both Houses, seventeen of which have 
been ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the states 
and have therefore become part of the Constitution. We 
shall have reason farther on to consider these amendments. 

The forbidding the alteration of the " first and fourth 
clauses in the ninth section of the first article” has reference 
to slavery, and has no weight now. 

Equal Suffrage in the Senate. — The last sentence in 
this clause, "And that no State without its consent, shall be 
deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate,” was inserted 
after considerable opposition in the convention on the last 
day of the session. And it guarantees forever to each state 
as long as it desires, its two votes in the Senate. 

Article VI. 

Clause 1. ' P A11 debts contracted and engage¬ 

ment entered into, before the adoption of this Consti¬ 
tution, shall be as valid against the United States, 
under this Constitution, as under the Confederation.” 


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Foundation of the Credit of the United States. — We 

have already referred to the money borrowed by the Conti¬ 
nental Congress, while working under the Articles of Con¬ 
federation, and its inability to repay it. This clause gave 
to the creditors of the United States a guarantee that the 
change of the Government from the Articles of Confedera¬ 
tion to the Constitution would in no way interfere with the 
payment of the old obligations and debts of the Government; 
and it is also a pledge that treaties and engagements entered 
into will be carried out. 

After the organization of the government, Alexander 
Hamilton, Secretary of the Treasury, submitted a plan for 
the payment of these old debts. This plan was adopted by 
the Government, and thus was made firm the credit of the 
United States. 

Clause 2. " This Constitution, and the laws of the 

United States which shall be made in pursuance 
thereof, and all treaties made, or which shall be made, 
under the authority of the United States, shall be the 
supreme law of the land; and the judges in every 
State shall be bound thereby, anything in the Consti¬ 
tution or laws of any State to the contrary notwith¬ 
standing.” 

The Supreme Law of the Land. — This clause was in¬ 
serted in order that there might be no doubt as to the 
supreme law of the land. And the Supreme Court of the 
United States has exercised this supreme authority, and in 
many cases has declared unconstitutional and void not only 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


101 


legislative acts of different states, but also parts of state con¬ 
stitutions. 

The State of New Jersey entered into a contract with 
some Indians as to land occupied by them, abolishing the 
taxes on their land forever. When the Indians sold their 
land to other people, the state tried to tax the land. The 
United States Supreme Court declared this act unconstitu¬ 
tional and void, as it was an act violating the obligations of 
the old contract with the Indians. 

The Dartmouth College case already referred to was 
another case in which the Supreme Court of the United 
States declared the unconstitutionality of the law of a 
state. 

Clause 3. ” The Senators and representatives 

before mentioned, and the members of the several 
State legislatures, and all executive and judicial 
officers both of the United States and of the several 
States, shall be bound by oath or affirmation to sup¬ 
port this Constitution; but no religious test shall 
ever be required as a qualification to any office of 
public trust tinder the United States.” 

It is supposed that the ceremony of taking an oath or 
making a solemn affirmation appeals to the honor of and 
all that is best in a man, and thus causes him to act 
uprightly. Hence all the officers of the different depart¬ 
ments of the United States and state governments are 
required to make oath or affirmation as laid down in this 
clause. 


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State Officers Bound by the Constitution. — The sev¬ 
eral state governments are connected with the United States 
Government, as w 7 e can readily see by referring to the 
clauses in the Constitution denying certain rights and privi¬ 
leges to the United States. For instance, a state legislator 
would violate his oath if he voted for a law to impose a tax 
on goods imported from another state into his own, a gov¬ 
ernor w T ould be untrue to his obligations if he tried to col¬ 
lect such a tax, and a judge would break his pledge in 
deciding such a case lawful. 

We have already seen that in some of the early colonial 
governments, a religious test was required not only to vote 
but also to hold public office. These qualifications always 
led to troubles and bitter feelings, and the last sentence in 
this clause was inserted to do away with this cause of dis¬ 
sension, in a free government, so far as it applied to holding 
office. 

Article VII. 

" The ratification of the Convention of nine States 
shall be sufficient for the establishment of this Con¬ 
stitution between the States so ratifying the same.” 

Discussion and Ratification of the Constitution.— 

How and when the thirteen States ratified the Constitution 
in accordance with this article we have learned in a previous 
chapter. 

From the time the Constitutional Convention finished its 
work, September 17, 1787, until its ratification by the con¬ 
tentions of eleven states, nearly a year elapsed. 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


103 


During this time the Constitution was thoroughly dis¬ 
cussed in the state conventions and among the people. The 
great statesmen of the time made speeches concerning it 
from the platform, and wrote articles in the press, in which 
all the ideas contained in this famous document were thor¬ 
oughly considered. 

The most famous of these articles were written by Madi¬ 
son, Hamilton and Jay. These have been collected and 
published under the name of "The Federalist.” 

Bill of Rights. — In all the discussions we note the fear 
on the part of the people and the states of giving up to 
Congress and the Central Government rights and privi¬ 
leges that they thought should be exercised only by the 
people and the States. And it was often stated that the 
Constitution contained no Bill of Rights — that is to say, a 
complete statement of the rights of the people. Hamilton’s 
statement in "The Federalist” in reply to this is, "The truth 
is, that the Constitution is itself in every rational sense, and 
tr >very useful purpose, a Bill of Rights.” 

As a result of all these discussions, there arose among 
the people an understanding that Congress would at the 
first opportunity propose amendments that would include 
the matters discussed and considered before the ratification. 

Accordingly on September 25, 1789, Congress proposed 
the arst ten amendments which were ratified by the States 
December 15, 1791. These and all other amendments have 
the same effect as if they had been included in the original 
Constitution. Let us now consider the clauses of the 
amendments. 


QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER XI 


1. What are the public acts of a State? 

2. What is a judgment? 

3. A citizen of New Jersey or of any other State, traveling in New York, 
is entitled to what ? 

4. What are requisition papers? 

5. What was the first State admitted into the Union ? 

6. Why was the consent of the Legislatures of New York and New 
Hampshire necessary for its admission? 

7. In whom was the authority over territories vested ? 

8. What was the important clause in the Ordinance of 1787? 

9 How has Congress disposed of land belonging to the United States? 
10 By what authority was the Yellowstone Park established? 

Territorial Government. 

a. Organized and established by whom ? 

b. Governor appointed by whom ? 

c. Judges of the Supreme Court appointed by whom ? 

d. Legislature elected by whom? 

e. All laws passed by territorial government must be submitted to 
whom ? 

/. The territorial delegate to Congress elected by whom ? 
g. Has he a vote ? 

11. Each State must have what form of government? 

12. How has the general government protected the States against in¬ 
vasion ? 

13. How did President Cleveland protect the State of Illinois against 
domestic violence, and why? 

14. How may Congress propose Amendments to the Constitution? 

15. How may the States propose Amendments to the Constitution? 


16. To ratify any proposed Amendment requires how large a vote of 
the States? 

17. How is equal suffrage in the Senate guaranteed? 

18. How was the credit of the United States made firm by Alexander 
Hamilton ? 

19. What is the supreme law of the land? 

20. Mention two instances in which a State law was declared uncon¬ 
stitutional. 

21. Can a religious test be required as a qualification to any office of 
public trust under the United States? 

22. How long after the Constitutional Convention finished its work 
before eleven States ratified the Constitution ? 

23. What is the “Federalist?” 

24. What is a Bill of Rights? (See also Magna Charta in glossary.) 

25. When did Congress propose the first ten Amendments to the 
Constitution ? 

26. When were they ratified by the States ? 


CHAPTER XII. 

THE AMENDMENTS. 

Article I. 

Congress shall make no law respecting an estab¬ 
lishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise 
thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of 
the press; or the right of the people peaceably to 
assemble, and to petition the government for a 
redress of grievances.” 

At the time this article was drawn, many European 
countries supported religious establishments and imposed 
restrictions on those of a different religion than that estab¬ 
lished by the country. It was fear of similar restrictions 
that caused the people to insist on this sentence of this 
article. 

Freedom of speech and of the press, as expressed in this 
article, does not give the right to wrongfully injure the 
character or business of persons by words, either spoken or 
written. 

The right of the people peaceably to assemble, and the 
right of petition, are regarded as rights necessary to the 
preservation of liberty; and, consequently, this safeguard 
was placed here. 


104 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


105 


Article II. 

"A well-regulated militia being necessary to the 
security of a free state, the right of the people to 
keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” 

The militia organization has been previously explained. 
The individual states exercise some restrictions on the 
bearing of arms by the people, it being unlawful to carry 
concealed weapons in many states. 

Articl*e III. 

w No soldier shall in time of peace be quartered 
in any house without the consent of the owner; nor 
in time of war but in a manner to be prescribed by 
law.” 

To quarter soldiers means to lodge or place them in a 
house. It will be remembered that the citizens of the 
colonies refused to comply with the Quartering Act passed 
by Parliament ordering them to furnish quarters to the 
British soldiers in time of peace. 

Article IV. 

"The right of the people to be secure in their 
persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unrea¬ 
sonable searches and seizures shall not be violated; 
and no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, 
supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly 
describing the place to be searched, and the persons 
or things to be seized.” 


106 


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Search Warrant. —A search warrant is a writing 
issued by a judge or court upon sworn evidence, alleging 
violation of the law in the place to be searched and 
describing the persons or things to be seized in the place, 
and without this warrant no officer has a right to search a 
house or premises. Warrants have been issued upon 
sworn evidence to search places for counterfeit money, 
arrests have been made, and materials and counterfeit 
money seized. Without a warrant, however, the officers 
could not lawfully enter such premises against the wishes 
of the owner. 

Article Y. 

person shall be held to answer for a capital, 
or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a present¬ 
ment or indictment cf a grand jury, except in cases 
arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, 
when in actual service, in time of war or public 
danger; nor shall any person be subject, for the 
same offense, to be twice put in jeopardy of life or 
limb; nor shall he be compelled, in any criminal 
case, to be a witness against himself; nor be de¬ 
prived of life, liberty, or property, without due pro¬ 
cess of law; nor shall private property be taken for 
public use, without just compensation.” 

The rights enumerated in this article are all common 
law rights in England, rights that gradually grew into the 
judicial system of England. 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


107 


A capital crime is one punishable with death ; infamous 
crimes are those punishable with long terms of imprison¬ 
ment. 

The Grand Jury. —A grand jury consists of a number 
of men chosen by an officer of the court from among the 
citizens; the number must be not less than twelve nor 
more than twenty-three, twelve of whom must agree in 
order that a presentment or indictment may be found. 

Presentments and Indictments. —A presentment is 
found by a grand jury on ‘its own information. An 
indictment is an accusation against a person, drawn by a 
government officer, called the District Attorney. The 
indictment must clearly charge the time, place, and nature 
of the offense, so that the accused may have full notice 
of the charge, and be able to defend himself intelligently 
when tried before the petit jury. 

When a presentment is made by a grand jury the 
proper court officer must draw an indictment. 

It is the duty of the grand jury to examine all indict¬ 
ments, hear all evidence in each case, and if they believe 
the charge true they indorse on the indictment "A true 
bill,” and the accused person is held for trial by a trial jury. 
If on the other hand the grand jury do not consider that 
the evidence is sufficient to convict, they indorse the 
indictment "Not found,” and the accused is released. He 
may, however, be indicted a second time. 

The cases in this article which are excepted from indict¬ 
ment are, as is readily understood, in the department of 


108 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


military justice, and are tried by court-martial, which pro¬ 
ceeding has been previously described. 

Jeopardy of Life or Limb. —" No person shall be twice 
put in jeop&rdy'of life or limb for the same offense,” means 
that a person after being tried by a trial jury and found 
not guilty VlW 1 not be again tried for the same offense. 
The distinctjoh between an indictment and a trial will here 
be noted—a^person can be indicted more than twice, as 
indicting is ijpt considered putting life and limb in jeopardy. 

If a trial jury disagree, there has been no jeopardy of 
life or limb, and another trial is held. A convicted per¬ 
son has a right to appeal for another trial, if he thinks 
mistakes have been made in the first one ; but in a case of 
a verdict of " not guilty,” no matter how many mistakes 
may have been made in the trial, the accused can not again 
be tried. 

Protection of Witnesses. —In ancient times persons 
were compelled even by torture to be witnesses against 
themselves. As men advanced in civilization, they real¬ 
ized the injustice and wickedness of these practices, and it 
became a part of the law that no man could be compelled 
to testify against himself; and now it is unlawful to com¬ 
pel a witness to say anything that would tend to criminate 
him or even disgrace him before his fellow-men. 

By "due process of law,” in this article, is meant regular 
indictment and trial by jury, as just explained. 

Right of Eminent Domain. — It sometimes becomes 
necessary for the government to take private property for 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 109 

public buildings, fortifications, national cemeteries, dock¬ 
yards, military and naval schools, and even post roads. But 
this property cannot be taken without paying the owner. If 
the government and the owner cannot agree upon the price, 
a number of men acting as a jury decide on the value of 
the property, which must be accepted by the owner. 

This right of the government to take private property 
for public use on payment of just compensation is called 
the "right of eminent domain.” 

Article VI. 

"In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall 
enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial by an 
impartial jury of the state and district wherein the 
crime shall have been committed, which district shall 
have been previously ascertained by law; and to be 
informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; 
to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to 
have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in 
his favor; and to have the assistance of counsel for 
his defense.” 

Protection of the Accused in Criminal Prosecution. 

—A person charged with a crime can be confined in a 
prison before his trial. This article provides that he shall 
not remain long in confinement before he is proved either 
guilty or innocent. Congress, as we have seen, divided 
the United States by law into judicial districts; and the 
accused must be tried in the one in which the crime was 


no 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


committed, in order that he may the more readily obtain 
assistance and evidence. The indictment informs the 
accused of the nature of his offense and, the trial being 
public, he is confronted with the witnesses against him. 
The part of Article VI. we have just discussed is derived 
from the old common law. The last sentence of this 
article is part of the English Statute Law. A witness 
whose evidence is desired at court is given a-paper, called a 
subpoena , ordering him to appear at a stated time. Should 
he not obey this order, he may be arrested and held a 
prisoner till he has given his evidence, and may also be 
further punished by the court. 

The subpoena is issued by an officer of the court, gen¬ 
erally by one of the lawyers. If the accused is too poor to 
hire a lawyer, the court may assign a lawyer to defend 
him at the expense of the government. A lawyer so 
assigned could be compelled to assume the duty without 
pay, as lawyers are officers of the court and must obey all 
its orders. 

Article YII. 

"In suits at common law, where the value in 
controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of 
trial by jury shall be preserved; and no fact, tried 
by a jury, shall be otherwis re-examined in any 
court of the United States than according to the 
rules of the common law.” 

Trial of Civil Suits by Jury.— This article refers to 
civil suits or cases in which one citizen sues another for 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


111 


money or property; and where the value is over twenty 
dollars the case must be tried by a trial jury, if one or 
both parties to the suit desire it. As the jury’s duty is to 
determine the facts and the judge’s duty is to determine 
the law, if the case should be appealed to a higher court, 
the facts as determined by the jury cannot be re-examined 
except according to the rules of the common law. 

Article VIII. 

"Excessive bail shall not be required, nor exces¬ 
sive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punish¬ 
ments inflicted.” 

Bail. —When a person charged with a crime is arrested 
and imprisoned he may apply to a judge to release him on 
bail until the time of his trial. Bail is a pledge of property 
given by a friend or friends of the accused to the court. If 
the accused should not appear in the court on the day ap¬ 
pointed for the trial, the property pledged is forfeited. 
This article requires that the pledge given should not be 
so large that it would be impossible for the accused to ob¬ 
tain it. 

Fines are sometimes imposed as a punishment for 
offenses; these fines must not be out of proportion to 
the offense. 

In olden times such punishments as burning alive, brand¬ 
ing with hot irons, putting out the eyes and otherwise 
maiming the body were made use of. Such cruel and 
unusual punishments are forbidden by this article. 


112 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


Article* IX. 

w The enumeration in this Constitution of certain 
rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage 
others retained by the people.” 

Article X. 

" The powers not delegated to the United States 
by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, 
are reserved to the States respectively, or to the 
people.” 

Powers ol Government Originally Belonged to 
States. — These two clauses show plainly that all rights 
and powers of government were originally with the states 
or the people, and only those given to the United States as 
indicated in the Constitution have been surrendered. All 
other rights and powers still remain to the people. 

Powers Reserved to the States. — These rights and 
powers so reserved are many. The state and people have 
full control in all matters concerning education. The 
schools and colleges are in no manner under the jurisdiction 
of the United States. State laws define many crimes and fix 
the punishment therefor, regulate marriage and divorce, 
and have jurisdiction over railroads and canals within their 
borders. The Erie Canal was built b}^ New York State. 

The people in the cities and towns build roads, water¬ 
works, schools, libraries and other public buildings, and 
maintain police and fire departments. These are but a few 
instances showing the exercise of the rights and powers of 
the states and the people. 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


113 


The Constitution a Compact Between the People 
and the Central Government. —In fact we shall learn as 
we proceed, that the Constitution is a compact or agree¬ 
ment between the people and the central government, 
whereby such rights and powers are delegated to the cen¬ 
tral government as will give it a place among nations of the 
earth and enable it to maintain that place against all attacks 
from without and dissensions from within ; and at the same 
time the Union is enabled to keep pace with the march of 
civilization by developing the natural advantages of the 
country for the benefit of all the states and all the people. 

Article XI. 

The judicial power of the United States shall not 
be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, 
commenced or prosecuted against one of the United 
States by citizens of another State, or by citizens or 
subjects of any foreign State.” 

This article w T as explained when we discussed Section 2, 
Clause 1 , of Article III. of the Constitution. 

Equity. —Equity is that branch of jurisprudence that 
goes beyond the strict construction of documents that the law 
generally gives; equity is the handmaid of law in that it 
assists in the rendering of true rather than technical justice, 

We can illustrate this as follows : A man may borrow ten 
thousand dollars on a house worth fifteen thousand dollars, 
giving a pledge, called a mortgage, for the whole house, that 
at a certain time the money will be paid. If the money is 


114 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


not paid on time the lender may sue for it, recover judgment, 
and the house must be sold to repay him. If the house 
brings fifteen thousand dollars, equity will not permit him 
to keep it all, only such amount as is legally due him. 

This is equitable justice, as it is right that the lender 
should receive only that which belongs to him, and the 
borrower should have also his own equity in the house. 

Article XII. 

” The electors shall meet in their respective States 
and. vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, 
one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of 
the same State with themselves; they shall name in 
their ballots the person voted for as President, and 
in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-Presi¬ 
dent; and they shall make distinct lists of all persons 
voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as 
Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each; 
which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit, 
sealed, to the seat of the Government of the United 
States, directed to the President of the Senate. The 
President of the Senate shall, in presence of the 
Senate and House of Representatives, open all the 
certificates, and the votes shall then be counted: 
The person having the greatest number of votes for 
President shall be the President, if such number be 
a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; 
and if no person have such a majority, then from the 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


115 


persons having the highest numbers', not exceeding 
three, on the list of those voted for as President, the 
House of Representatives shall choose immediately, 
by ballot, the President. But, in choosing the 
President, the votes shall be taken by States, the 
representation from each State having one vote; a 
quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member 
or members from two-thirds of the States, and a 
majority of all the States shall be necessary to a 
choice. And if the House of Representatives shall 
not choose a President, whenever the right of choice 
shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of 
March next following, then the Vice-President shall 
act as President, as in the case of the death, or other 
constitutional disability, of the President. The 
person having the greatest number of votes as 
Vice-President shall be the Vice-President, if such 
number be a majority of the whole number of Elec¬ 
tors appointed; and if no person have a majority, 
then, from the two highest numbers on the list, the 
Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum 
for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the 
whole number of Senators; and a majority of the 
whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But 
no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of 
President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President 
of the United States.” 


116 


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This article was fully explained when we considered the 
manner of electing the President and Vice-President in 
Clause 2, Section 1, Article II., of the Constitution. 

Article XIII. 

Section 1 . " Neither slavery nor involuntary ser¬ 

vitude, except as a punishment for crime, whereof 
the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist 
within the United States, or any place subject to 
their jurisdiction. 55 

Section 2. "Congress shall have power to enforce 
this article by appropriate legislation. 55 

This article was adopted in 1865 and abolished slavery 
throughout the United States. 

Article XIV. 

Section 1 . "All persons born or naturalized in 
the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction 
thereof, are citizens of the United States, and of the 
States wherein they reside. Xo State shall make or 
enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges 
or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor 
shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or 
property, without due process of law, nor deny to 
any person within its jurisdiction the equal protec¬ 
tion of the laws. 55 

This section was passed to define the civic position of 
the emancipated slaves as well as for their protection. 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


117 


Section 2. w Representatives shall be apportioned 
along the several States according to their respective 
numbers, counting the whole number of persons in 
each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when 
the right to vote at any election for the choice of 
Electors for President and Vice-President of the 
United States, Representatives in Congress, the ex¬ 
ecutive and judicial officers of a State, or the mem¬ 
bers of the legislature thereof, is denied to any of 
the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one 
years of age and citizens of the United States, or in 
any way abridged, except for participation in rebel¬ 
lion or other crime, the basis of representation 
therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the 
number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole 
number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in 
such State.” 

We have learned that the states determine who may 
be voters; this section provides that when a state for any 
cause except one of a treasonable or criminal nature, pre¬ 
vents any number of male citizens over twenty-one from 
voting that state shall be deprived of exactly that number 
in the count for representatives in Congress. 

Section 3 . ” No person shall be a Senator or 

Representative in Congress, or Elector of President 
and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or mili¬ 
tary, undo* the United States or under any State, 


118 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


who, having previously taken an oath as a member 
of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or 
as a member of any State legislature, or as an exec¬ 
utive or judicial officer of any State, to support the 
Constitution of the United States, shall have en¬ 
gaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, 
or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. 
But Congress may, by a vote of two-thirds of each 
House, remove such disability.” 

This section refers to those officers of the United States 
and state governments, who aided the Confederates daring 
the Civil War. Since the adoption of this amendment the 
disabilities have been removed from all the persons on 
whom they once rested. 

Section 4. " The validity of the public debt of 

the United States authorized by law, including debts 
incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for 
service in suppressing insurrection and rebellion, 
shall not be questioned. But neither the United 
States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or 
obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion 
against the United States, or any claim for the loss 
or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obli¬ 
gations, and claims shall be held illegal and void.” 

Status of Debts of the Civil War. — The first part of 
this section not only refers to the debts contracted in the 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


119 


Civil War, but to all the public debts. The latter part of 
the section refers to debts and losses of the Confederates 
and was adopted into the organic law of the land in order 
to avoid any annoying litigation and law suits. 

Section 5. " The Congress shall have power to 

enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of 
this article.” 

This section or any similar section following an article 
in the Constitution is unnecessary, for it is admitted by 
all, and the United States Supreme Court has decided that 
where a right or privilege is given, the power to enforce it 
is also granted as a matter of course. 

Article XV. 

Section 1. "The right of citizens of the United 
States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by 
the United States, or by any State, on account of 
race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” 

Section 2. "The Congress shall have power to 
enforce this article by appropriate legislation.” 

This article was adopted to permit the emancipated 
colored population to vote ; this is the only place in the 
Constitution or Amendments where the right of the state to 
determine who may be voters is interfered with. 


120 


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Article XVI. 

The Congress shall have power to lay and collect 
taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, with¬ 
out apportionment among the several States, and 
without regard to any census or enumeration. 

The Sixteenth Amendment was declared in a proclamation 
of the Secretary of State, dated February 25 , 1913 , to 
have been ratified by thirty-eight of the forty-eight states. 

Previous to its adoption a law laying a tax on incomes 
had been passed by the Congress. On a test case the 
United States Supreme Court declared the law unconstitu¬ 
tional and void. The adoption of this article has enabled 
the Congress to lay and collect taxes on incomes. 

Article XVII. 

1. The Senate of the United States shall be com¬ 
posed of two Senators from each State, elected by 
the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator 
shall have one vote. The electors in each State 
shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of 
the most numerous branch of the State Legislatures. 

2. When vacancies happen in the representation 
of any State in the Senate, the executive authority 
of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such 
vacancies: Provided, That the Legislature of any 
State may empower the executive thereof to make 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


temporary appointments until the people fill the 
vacancies by election as the Legislature may direct. 

3. This Amendment shall not be so construed as 
to affect the election term of any Senator chosen 
before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution. 

The Seventeenth Amendment was declared in a proclama¬ 
tion of the Secretary of State dated May 31 , 1913 , to have 
been ratified by thirty-six of the forty-eight states. 

It provides for the election of United States Senators 
by the people instead of by the State Legislatures. Clause 
1 of Section 3 , Article 1 , and the second part of Clause 2 
in the same Section are made inoperative by this Amend¬ 
ment. 


QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER XII 


1. What is the first Amendment to the Constitution ? 

2. What restriction is placed on the bearing of arms in some States. 

3. How may soldiers be quartered in times of peace? How in time 
of war? Why was this Amendment made? 

4. What is a search warrant ? 

5. Can premises be searched without a warrant? 

6. What is a capital crime? 

7. What is an infamous crime? 

8. What is a grand jury? 

9. What is a presentment? 

10. What is an indictment ? 

11. Explain the procedure of the grand jury in the case of an indict¬ 
ment. 

12. Can a person after having been tried by a trial jury and found 
“not guilty” be tried again for the same offense? 

13. Can a man be compelled to testify against himself? 

14. What is meant by “due process of law?” 

15. What is meant by “right of eminent domain?” 

16. How is the accused protected in criminal prosecution ? 

17. What is a subpoena ? 

18. What civil suits must be tried by a jury? 

19. What is bail? 

20. Can excessive bail be required? 

21. Can excessive fines be imposed? 

22. Can cruel or unusual punishment be inflicted? 

23. To whom did the powers of government originally belong? 

24. What powers are reserved to the States? 

25. What is the Constitution? 

26. What is equity? 

27. What Amendment abolished slavery? 

28. What Amendment defines the civic position of the emancipated 
slaves ? 


29 . What provision is made in the Amendments for reducing the 
apportionment of States that prevent any of these male citizens over 
twenty-one from voting? 

30 . How is the validity of the public debts assured? 

31 . How is the franchise given to the emancipated colored population? 

32 . Is the right of the State to determine who may or may not be 
voters anywhere else interfered with? 

33 . By what authority is an income tax laid? 

34 . What is the content of the Seventeenth Amendment? 



CHAPTER XIII. 


GOVERNMENT OF ILLINOIS. 

The Nature of Government. — If people did not live 

together but each lived by himself, each person could do just as 
he pleased. He could go when and where he pleased, for it 
would make no difference to anyone else. He could say what 
he pleased, for it would offend no one and do no harm. He 
could ~do what he pleased with anything which he owns, for 
no one else would have a share in it. 

But as soon as even two people live together they cannot 
do just what they please. One cannot go when he wants to, 
for it might be an injury to himself or his mate He cannot 
do what he wants to with what he has, for it belongs to the other 
also. It is a great benefit to live together and for this benefit 
each person must give up some of his freedom. The man who 
lives alone on an island is free. The people who live together 
are under government. They are under the control of the 
law. They are free to do that only which injures no one, not 
even themselves. So far as doing harm is concerned a man 
who lives entirely alone may hurt himself or even kill himself. 
But a man with a family or friends may not do these things; 
for it will be a great injury to his family or friends. 

Family Government. —In the family there must be cer¬ 
tain rules which each member must obey if life is to be happy 
and useful. Each must be considerate of the wishes of the others. 

123 


124 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


Each must do the work belonging to each. Each must share 
with the others what belongs to all alike. There must be a 
head or ruler. The father is the ruler in matters of business. 
The mother is ruler in the matters of the home. Each one 
helps the other in his or her work. The children also have 
their duties and rights. While they are young they must obey 
father and mother. As they grow older they help in every¬ 
thing in the family work and obedience is no longer demanded, 
for like the father and mother, they regard the wishes of the 
others and do right because they know it is right. 

School Government.—In the school many people live and 
work together. They come together to learn the things people 
need to know and to learn to behave properly toward others. 
There could be no school if every one did as he pleased. All 
must obey certain rules that all may work. Each must stay 
in his own place, keep quiet and let others alone. Each must 
come every day and on time. These are the laws of the school. 
The teacher is the governor. The laws are obeyed not for 
the teacher’s good but for the good of all. 

Government of a Public Meeting. — When people 
come together in a meeting to do some particular thing it will 
not do for each to do as he pleases, for then nothing could be 
done. They, therefore, elect a chairman who governs the 
meeting. All obey the rules of the meeting. The chairman 
tells them what the rules are and makes all obey. 

Village Government.—When people live in a small village 
or city all must obey the laws that are made for the good of all. 
The mayor’s business is to make all obey and punish those 
who refuse to obey. 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


125 


State Government.—When a large number of people live 
together we call it a state. In the state the people choose many 
men whose business it is to make the laws that all must obey. 
They choose one man, the governor, whose business it is to 
enforce the laws, that is, make the people obey them or punish 
them when they do not. They also choose a few men whose 
business it is to hear all cases where people are accused of dis¬ 
obeying the laws. They decide what the law is and whether 
the person has disobeyed it. These men are called judges. 
In America we think these three different things should be 
done by three different persons. All this is called government- 

Growth of Government. — People first lived in families, 
father, mother and children. But families began to do wrong 
to other families and there was fighting and killing among 
them. To defend themselves against their enemies, all the 
brothers of a family stayed by each other and fought for each 
other. Then all the cousins and seconds cousins stayed by 
each other. This group of kinsfolk was called a clan. The 
wisest and strongest among them was the chief and he ruled 
the clan. 

In time of great danger from enemies, clans who liked each 
other, stayed by each other and fought the enemies of all. The 
strongest chief among the clans was chosen chief over the 
tribe. 

In the course of time a number of tribes found it necessary 
to be friendly with each other and the strongest chief among 
them became the King of the nation. 

Kinds of Government. — Sometimes a government grew 
up and the people had little to say about it. A strong chief 
conquered other clans and tribes and governed just as he pleased. 


126 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


He thus made himself king and claimed that it was his right 
to rule. The people had nothing to do except to obey. He 
looked upon himself as father of his people and he ruled them 
as a father rules his children. This is called a Paternal Gov¬ 
ernment. 

In other cases the people kept their rights. When they had 
a king who did not rule as they wanted to be ruled they killed 
him and made some one king who would rule by the laws 
that the people had made. In America the people choose 
their rulers, governors for the states and president for the United 
States, to rule for a term of years. They then choose another 
one This is self-government or a Republic. A paternal 
government is best where the people themselves are ignorant 
and where a few only are intelligent. A Republic is best where 
the people as a whole are intelligent and disposed to do what 
is right. Ignorant people are like children and need to be 
ruled by some one wiser than themselves. 

When the ruler governs all his life and then his son after him, 
we call the government a monarchy. If he rules by laws made 
by the people, we call it a limited monarchy. When the people 
choose for ruler whom they please for as long as they please, 
we call it a Republic. 

State and Nation.—The United States is the nation to 
which we belong. There are forty-eight states (1913), each 
of which has its own government. Yet the government of the 
United States must be obeyed by all these states and by the 
people of the states. The people of all the states have adopted 
a law called the United States Constitution which tells just what 
the United States government may do and what the state gov¬ 
ernment may do. The United States does nothing which it is 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


127 


the right of the states to do and the states do nothing which it 
is the right of the national government to do. 

Each state has a law called its constitution , which tells what 
the state may do and what it may not do. Other laws are then 
made by the people called the statutes , which cannot be in dis¬ 
agreement with the state constitution. 

The state is divided into counties. Illinois has 102 counties. 
In each county there are officers who carry on the government 
of the county. Each county is divided into towns. Here also 
are officers who carry on the town government. The state is 
also divided into townships. These are six miles square. 
These townships are divided into school districts. Each school 
district has officers who govern the school. There are also 
villages and cities in the state and they, too, have their own 
kind of government. The law that tells what a village or city 
may or may not do is called its charter. 

I. SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. 

Country School. — In every country school district there 
are three school directors. They serve a term of three years, 
one being elected each year in April. When they meet after 
election one member is elected president and one clerk. The. 
president presides at the meeting and the clerk keeps a record 
of what is done. Their business is all done at a meeting of 
the board, and at least two must be present to do business. 
When money is to be paid out, the president and clerk, or any 
two members, sign the order on the treasurer. The board 
says how much money it must have to run the school, that is, 
levy a tax. The county clerk figures out how much each man 
in the district has to pay. The town collector collects this tax 
and pays it to the school treasurer. The Board hires a teacher 


128 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


and makes the rules governing the school. Nearly always the . 
Board lets the teacher make the rules. The teacher is the 
governor in the school-room. In extreme cases, when a pupil 
must be expelled for very bad conduct, the Board must do this. 

When pupils are sensible and want to do what is right, the 
school government is almost a republic. But when pupils are 
not disposed to do right, the government becomes a monarchy 
and the teacher must make the pupils obey. As one of the 
great purposes of the school is to train children to do what is 
right, it is much better if the pupils govern themselves, for by 
so doing they become good citizens. If they have to be made 
to do right against their will they are likely to grow worse in¬ 
stead of better. 

Township School Government. — In every township 
there are elected three school trustees. Their duty is to 
appoint a school treasurer, who safely keeps the money be¬ 
longing to all the districts in the township, and pays it out 
upon the order of the Board of Directors. The trustees form 
the school districts and change the boundary lines when the 
people want them changed. 

Township High Schools. — Each township may be 
made a high school district by vote of the people. The whole 
township pays the tax and all the children of the township 
who are prepared to do high school work may attend free. 

Graded Schools. —■ When a school district contains not 
fewer than one thousand or more than one hundred thousand 
people it may elect a Board of Education to consist of a 
President, six members and three additional members for 
every additional ten thousand inhabitants, provided, however, 
that in no case shall such Board consist of more than fifteen 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


129 


members. They may appoint a superintendent, whose 
business it is to look after all the schools of the district. 

The County Superintendent. — Each county has a 
county superintendent of schools, whose business it is to care 
for the interests of all the schools of the county. He examines 
applicants who want to teach school. If he finds them pre¬ 
pared to do the work he grants them a certificate to teach. 
A Board may not employ one who has not a certificate. 
He visits schools and gives advice and directions to the 
teachers. He forms the course of study and prepares test 
questions for promotion and graduation of pupils. 

II. TOWN GOVERNMENT 

By a town is not meant a village or a city. It is a territory 
set apart for local government. Many times the town covers 
the territory of a township. Sometimes it is only a part of 
a township. At other times it is part of several townships. 
Many of the towns have a town house or town hall, where 
elections are held and where officers meet to transact business. 
Sometimes the most central school-house in the town is used 
for this purpose. 

The Supervisor. —The chief officer of the town is the 
supervisor. His duties are: 1. To receive and pay out all 
moneys for town expenses, except that for highways. 2. To 
prosecute all lawsuits for the town. 3. To keep account of all 
moneys received and paid out. 4. To furnish proper relief 
to all paupers at the expense of the county. 5. To make a 
statement to the town clerk before the town meeting of what 
is due the town and what it owes. 6. To represent the town 
as a member of the Board of Supervisors at the county seat. 


130 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


The Town Clerk. — 1. This officer keeps a record of 
what business is transacted by the town at the town meeting. 

2. He must deliver to the supervisor a certificate showing for 
what purposes the town meeting voted money to be raised. 

3. He certifies to the county clerk the amount of taxes the 
town meeting has voted to raise. The county clerk figures out 
how much of this each man in the town must pay. 

The Assessor. — The assessor must find out how much 
property every person in the town has on which he must pay 
taxes. He places a value on this. The county clerk’s figures 
show how much a man must pay on a dollar’s worth of prop¬ 
erty. If he pays one cent on a dollar’s worth, he would pay 
SI.00 of tax if his property was valued at $100; $10 tax if his 
property was valued at $1000. 

The assessor receives from the county treasurer a book 
which contains a description of all the land and the names of 
the owners in the town. He must then examine the land and 
say how much it is worth. In another book he records the 
names of all persons in the town that have personal property, 
that is, property other than land and buildings, and the value 
of their property. When he gets these records completed he 
delivers them to the county treasurer. 

The Town Collector. — This officer collects the taxes 
which the people in the town must pay. The county clerk 
gets the assessor’s books from the county treasurer and figures 
out all the taxes each person must pay. Then he gives the 
books to the collector and he sees everyone whose name is in 
the book and collects the amount. He turns the school taxes 
over to the school treasurer, the road tax over to the highway 
commissioners, the city tax to the city treasurer and the county 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


131 


and state taxes to the county treasurer. If taxes on personal 
property are not paid he may sell the property and keep out 
the taxes. If taxes on land are not paid, the county treasurer 
may sell the land for taxes. 

The Board of Highway Commissioners. — There are 
three members of this board, one elected each year. One of 
them is made treasurer and the town clerk keeps the record. 
The treasurer receives all the money raised for roads and pays 
it out on orders signed by at least two members of the Board. 
The Board may establish new roads, vacate old ones, and 
repair roads and bridges, put up guide posts, cut weeds, pro¬ 
vide wells and watering troughs. 

Justice of the Peace. — This officer is the judge who tries 
the less important cases. There are two kinds of cases. 1. 
Civil Suits are brought when the dispute is about money. 
One person may claim that another owes him money. The 
other claims that he does not owe it. The first one has the 
justice of the peace bring the second one before him. Then 
each one brings his witnesses and the judge decides the dispute. 
What he decides must be done. 2. Criminal Suits are 
brought when one person has injured the person or property 
of another. 

A Misdemeanor is an offense which is not punishable with 
imprisonment in the penitentiary or death, but it is punishable 
with a fine or imprisonment in the county jail. A Felony is 
an offense punishable with imprisonment in the penitentiary or 
death. An Assault is an attempt of a person who is able to 
do so to do injury to the person of another. Assault and 
Battery is the unlawful beating of a person. A justice of the 


132 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


peace may try civil cases where the amount in dispute is not 
more than two hundred dollars. 

He may try cases of misdemeanor punishable by fine only 
and the fine does not exceed two hundred dollars. 

When a person is accused of felony, he may be brought 
before the justice of the peace, and if he is found guilty he is 
sent to jail to await the action of the Grand Jury. He may 
avoid imprisonment if he can furnish bail; that is, if he can 
get a man who has enough property to agree to pay a sum of 
money if the prisoner does not appear in court when wanted. 
If the prisoner now runs away, this man must pay the bail. 

The Constable. — This is the officer who arrests people 
and brings them into court. If one man sues another the con¬ 
stable goes after the one sued and brings him before the justice 
of the peace to answer. He also goes out and gets the wit¬ 
nesses that are called for. If a person is accused of crime the 
constable arrests him and brings him into court and safely 
keeps the prisoner until he secures bail, or takes him to jail. 
If the constable sees some one committing a crime, he may 
arrest him and take him before a justice of the peace. But 
usually some one enters a complaint to the justice. He then 
writes out a paper called a warrant , which commands the con¬ 
stable to arrest the person against whom the complaint is made. 

The Town Meeting. — The first Tuesday of April is town 
meeting day. At eight or nine o’clock in the morning the 
Town Clerk calls the meeting to order. Every voter in the 
town may be present and take part. He calls for nominations 
for moderator, who is elected by aye and no. The moderator, 
the supervisor, and the assessor are the judges of the election. 
A ballot box is provided and voting for town officers begins. 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


133 


When the votes are counted by the judges, the town clerk 
announces the result. 

At two o’clock all the voters are supposed to meet and the 
town meeting is held. The moderator presides and the town 
clerk keeps the record. Now the people decide what the town 
government shall do. i. Decide how much money shall be 
raised by taxation for town purposes, such as constructing and 
repairing roads and bridges, salaries of officers, and carrying 
on law suits to which the town is a party. 2 . Instruct the 
officers what to do in case of lawsuits. 3 . Offer rewards for 
destruction of harmful weeds. 4 . Make rules as to fences 
along the highway. 5 . Regulate the running at large of stock. 
6 . Provide for public wells and watering troughs. 7 . Pro¬ 
vide for promoting the healthfulness of the town. 8 . Decide 
whether road tax shall be paid in labor or money. 

Before the close of the meeting the reports of all officers 
are received and acted upon. 

The Township.— The township is a tract of land six miles 
square. It is laid off not for the sake of government but for 
describing land. By this means any farm in the state may be 
located on the map when the description is given. The town¬ 
ship is divided into thirty-six pieces, each a mile square, called 
a section. Each section is divided into four parts, each con¬ 
taining 160 acres called quarter sections. Each quarter section 
may again be divided into halves containing eighty acres. 
The half-quarters may again be divided into halves containing 
forty acres, and these into halves containing twenty acres. 
Sections are numbered from the northeast section westward to 
No. 6 . Then eastward from 7 to 12 , etc. Half sections are 
either east half, west half, or north half or south half. Quarters 
are northeast, northwest, southeast and southwest. 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


134 

The Principal Meridian.— In dividing the state into town¬ 
ships the surveyors first established a straight north and south 
line called the principal meridian. The one from which most 


6 

5 

i 4 

3 

2 

1 

7 

8 

0 

10 

11 

12 

18 

17 

1G 

15 

14 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

30 

29 

28 

27 

26 

25 

3.1 

32 

33 

84 

35 

86 


A TOWNSHIP DIVIDED INTO SECTIONS 


of the townships in Illinois are described is called the Third, 
and extends straight north from the mouth of the Ohio River. 

Ranges.— Six miles east or west of the principal meridian a 
line is run north and south and the strip of land between is 
called Range i east or Range i west, as the case may be. Six 













CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


135 


miles east and six miles west of these another line is run, and 
the strip of land between is Range 2 east, or west, as the case 
may be, and so on to the east and to the west lines of the state. 


N.W.M 

» 160 Acres 

N.W. M of 
' N.E. M 

N.E. M of 
N.E. M 

S.MofN.E. M 

80 Acres 


, N.E. h of 

S. W. M 

40 Acres 

* 

Uo/) 

'EM of £ 
).E.M ) 

10 

->4crea 



S.W. M of 

s.e. V ! 

40 Acres, 

E.Mof \ 
N.E.M oft 
S.E.M of f 
S.E.M ) 

4if 

-1- 

5 Acres 

20 Acres 

SMofS.W. M of 
S.W. M 

Ej[ 


A SECTION SUB-DIVIDED 


Base Line.— Another line is run straight east and west, 
crossing the principal meridian. This is called the Base Line. 
Another line is run six miles north or south of this and parallel 
to the base line. Every six miles north or south another line 
is run. These and the meridians divide the state into six 















136 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


mile squares called Townships. The townships are numbered 
north or south from the base line and the ranges are numbered 
east or west from the principal meridian. Find township 4 
north, range 5 east of the third P. M. Find township 3 north, 



PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN AND BASE LINES 


range 3 west of the third P. M. Find township 3 south, range 
5 east of the third P. M. 

The land west of the Illinois River and west from the third 
principal meridian from where it crosses the Illinois is described 
from the fourth principal meridian. A small part of the land 
























CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


137 


in the eastern part of the state is described from the second 
principal meridian. 

Note to the Teacher. You should find out how land is described 
in your county and drill pupils until they can describe any quarter section 
in your township. 



MERIDIAN BASE LINES AND TOWNSHIP LINES IN ILLINOIS 


III. CITY GOVERNMENT. 

A Village. — If a village wishes to have a government so 
that it may do more things than a town can do, it must incor¬ 
porate, that is, it must apply to the secretary of state for a 































138 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


charter. The charter is a document which tells what the 
village may do and may not do in governing itself. Whatever 
the officers of the village require the people to do that is not 
contrary to the charter, they must do. The village elects six 
trustees. These are the law making body. The president of 
the village Board of Trustees is the law enforcing officer or 
executive. A village clerk is elected, but the treasurer, street 
commissioner, and constable are appointed by the Board. 

The City. — A city is divided into wards, each containing 
about the same number of inhabitants. In each ward two 
aldermen are elected, one each year and serving two years. 
The aldermen constitute the City Council. This is the 
legislative part of the government. 

The Mayor is elected and presides at the meetings of the 
council and is the executive part of the government. 

City laws are called ordinances and are made to be in harmony 
with the charter. 

The City Clerk is elected, must attend the meetings of the 
council and keep a record of its proceedings and of the ordi¬ 
nances passed by the council. 

The City Treasurer safely keeps the money of the city 
government and pays it out on orders issued by the council. 

The Police Court. — Cities elect a judge called the Police 
Magistrate. He tries cases brought for violation of the city 
ordinances. He may also try any cases which a justice of the 
peace may try. 

City Attorney. — This is the lawyer for the city. He 
prosecutes offenders against the city ordinances, represents 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


130 


the city in any lawsuits it may be a party to, and gives legal 
advice to the council. 

The Marshal.— The marshal keeps the peace of the city, 
arrests offenders against the laws, and is at the head of the 
police force. 

Policemen.— The policemen assist the marshal in keeping 
the peace. It is their business to see that people do no wrong, 
as well as to arrest them after they have committed offenses. 

The Work of the City Government.— Where so many 
people live together there is much work to do in the government 
of the people. 

The streets and sidewalks must be provided and cared for 
more than is necessary in the country. City governments often 
manage the water supply, the lighting of the city, keep a fire 
department, look after the healthfulness of the city. There 
must be a great deal of cleaning up. Sewers for the drainage 
of the city must be provided. The sale of injurious articles, 
like intoxicants and tobacco, must be regulated. For this 
reason a special form of government that will enable the people 
to do these things is necessary. 

IV. COUNTY GOVERNMENT. 

In the governments which we have been studying the people 
of small communities do those things that are for the good of 
all that concerns them in their everyday living. 

Now we come to a larger territory which embraces more 
people. There are things that can be better done where a 
large number of people work together. 

The state is divided into 102 counties. Some of them are 


1 10 CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

small, and others as large as the state of Rhode Island. There 
are two kinds of government in these counties. In the south¬ 
ern part of the state the early settlers came from Virginia and 
other southern states. They liked best the county system 
which was used in their native states. The early settlers in 
the northern part came from the eastern states and they liked 
best the town system of New England. When the counties 
were organized the people chose the kind of government which 
suited them best. 

The Board of Supervisors. — In the town government you 
learned of the supervisor. The supervisors from all the towns 
in the county meet at the county seat four times a year. These 
constitute the Board of Supervisors. At their first meeting 
after the election in April they elect one of their number chair¬ 
man, and the county clerk acts as secretary of the Board. 
The Board is then ready for business. 

Committees. — The first business is for the chairman to ap¬ 
point committees to attend to particular work, as it would be 
difficult for all the members, sometimes fifty in number, to at¬ 
tend to all the business. There is usually a Pauper Committee, 
the duty of which is to take charge of all the business that has 
to do with the care of the poor and insane of the county. The 
committee is expected to recommend someone to be super¬ 
intendent of the county infirmary and poor farm. This com¬ 
mittee inspect all bills against the county for work done and 
supplies furnished to the poor of the county. What they recom¬ 
mend to the Board is usually done, though it may not be done 
if a majority of the Board does not favor it. 

There are committees to settle with the various county 
officers. The committee to settle with the county treasurer 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


141 


examines that officer’s books to see that the business is done 
honestly and properly. If he needs a clerk he asks the com¬ 
mittee for one. The committee recommends that the Board 
employ one. Then the Board takes a vote on it. This places 
checks on the county officers and keeps them from neglecting 
the business of their offices or doing what they ought not to do. 

Powers and Duties. — Their meetings must be open to 
the public. 

Must publish the proceedings of the Board in some county 
paper. 

Must provide and care for public buildings necessary for 
the county. These are usually a court house, a jail, and an 
infirmary for the poor. 

Must provide books and stationery and help for the county 
offices. 

Must publish at the end of each year an itemized statement 
of the receipts and expenditures. 

Must prosecute those who are guilty of wrong doing in the 
county and must take steps to defend the county when it is 
sued. 

Must fix the salaries of county officers and pay the same. 
The salary of a county officer may not be changed during the 
term for which he was elected. Can you see a reason for this 
provision ? The salary of the county superintendent of school 
is fixed by the state, but the Board may pay him in addition 
and pay for the help which he may need. 

Must levy the taxes necessary to pay county expenses. You 
will take note that each kind of government levies the taxes 
which it needs, the school, the town, the city, the county, and 
the state. 


142 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


Must select those who are to serve on the grand jury. 

Must select persons to serve on the petit juries. Each 
supervisor hands in the names of one-tenth of the legal voters 
of his town whom he thinks are fit persons to serve on petit 
juries. The county clerk places each name on a separate 
card and places them all in a box. Twenty days before a 
trial court meets, he shakes up the names in the box and draws, 
without seeing them, as many as are needed. The persons 
whose names are drawn must serve on the jury unless excused 
by the court. 

County Offices. 

The County Clerk. — The duties of this officer are so 
numerous that we can give only the principal ones. 

He has the care of all the books and papers belonging to the 
Board of Supervisors. 

He is the custodian of the bonds of the county officers. 

He issues marriage licenses and marriage certificates and 
keeps a record of them. 

He records the births and deaths of the county. 

He keeps an alphabetical index of all papers in his custody 
that they may be readily found. 

He attends the sessions of the county court and keeps a 
complete record of what is done. 

He issues warrants for the payment of county funds. In 
the payment of county money, the Board of Supervisors first 
authorizes the county clerk to draw a warrant for the amount. 
This is presented to the treasurer, who pays the money. Three 
parties have to pass on it every time money is paid out. This 
makes dishonesty difficult. 

In the assessor’s books which the county clerk gets from the 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


143 


county treasurer, he has a list of all persons in the county who 
own property. From the various taxing bodies, such as school 
boards, town officers, county and state, he learns how much 
money must be raised by taxation. He now calculates how 
much each person will have to pay and records it after his 
tiame. These books are handed to the town collectors, who 
collect the amounts. 

He issues the ballots, poll books, and supplies for elections 
to the supervisor of each town. 

When the elections have been held, he receives the ballots 
from the supervisors, and together with two justices of the peace, 
he makes the official count and keeps a record of the same. 
He keeps the ballots for a time and in case of a contest of an 
election they may be recounted and the contest settled. 

The Sheriff. — The sheriff’s duties are: 

To keep the peace of the county. If he sees anyone break¬ 
ing the laws he may arrest him without a warrant and bring 
him before the court for trial. Usually he does not arrest 
people without an order from a court. 

He has charge of the court house and jail. He safely keeps 
the prisoners and boards them. If a prisoner is sentenced lo 
the penitentiary or reformatory he conveys him to these places. 
If one is sentenced to death the sheriff executes him. 

He attends the sessions of the county and circuit court. He 
opens and adjourns court, keeps order under the direction of 
the judge. He obeys the orders of the court pertaining to his 
office. Some of the things which he does are: i. Serves war¬ 
rants ., that is, arrests people by order of the court. 2. Serves 
summons , that is, brings into court anyone called for by the 
judge to answer to the charge made by the one named in the 


144 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


summons. 3. Serves subpoenas , that is, a command to appear 
in court as a witness. 4. Serves executions , that is, carrying 
the judgment of the court into effect, such as selling the property 
of a person to pay a debt for which he was sued and judgment 
rendered against him. 

The sheriff is furnished enough assistants to do the work at 
ordinary times, but in case of riot, that is, when a great many 
people combine to resist the law, he may call on all able-bodied 
citizens to help him and they are obliged to assist. If then he 
cannot restore order he may call on the governor of the state 
for the militia. If the governor is unable to restore order with 
the militia he may call on the President of the United States 
for troops from the regular army. If the President is unable 
to restore order with the regular army and the militia, he may 
raise an army of volunteers or draft all able-bodied men into 
service. 

This gives us a clear idea of how people can be made to obey 
the laws. All these officers whose business it is to see that the 
laws are obeyed are executive officers. 

The County Treasurer. —The county treasurer must safely 
keep and pay out, as directed by law, all public money which 
comes into his hands. He does not receive all the money 
raised by taxes, for some of it is paid direct to the officer to 
whom it belongs, such as school treasurer and road commis¬ 
sioner, by the collector. But the collector hands the treasurer 
the receipts of these officers and that is the same as cash. 

He keeps a complete record of all business transacted by 
him and this is open to inspection by the public and is checked 
up and passed on by the Board of Supervisors twice a year. 
The report of the Board is filed with the county clerk. 


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The treasurer is also Supervisor of Assessments. — He 

calls together the town assessors, delivers to them the books 
and blanks which they need, and instructs them in their duties. 

When the assessors return the books to him, having placed 
a value on all the property listed, the treasurer may change 
any assessment as he deems proper. If a tax payer thinks his 
assessment is too high or low, he can go before the supervisor 
of assessments and seek redress. 

Before the second Monday in July the supervisor of assess¬ 
ments turns the assessors’ books over to the 

Board of Review. — This Board consists of the chairman 
of the Board of Supervisors and two citizens whom the county 
judge appoints. They change the assessments as they think 
proper. Here again a tax payer may seek relief if he has been 
unjustly assessed. 

If any one thinks some one else has been assessed too low, 
he may notify the Board of Review and have an investigation 
made. 

The Board also tries to find property which has escaped 
assessment. 

The county treasurer collects all taxes on railroads as well 
as that which was not paid to the collectors. If the taxes on 
real estate (land) has not been paid, he sells enough of the 
land to pay the taxes. 

The Surveyor. — It is the duty of the surveyor to measure, 
describe, and fix the boundaries of lands of those who call 
upon him to do so. A record of it is kept and may be placed 
upon the books of the Recorder of Deeds. He is paid by the 
party who secures his services. 


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The County Superintendent of Schools. —He is really 

an officer of the state, for he is paid by the state out of the school 
funds belonging to the county. But his territory is the county, 
and he is responsible to the Board of Supervisors the same as 
other county officers, and they furnish him office supplies and 
assistants. Some of his duties are: i. To visit the schools. 
Give the Boards of Directors and the teachers such advice 
and instruction as he deems necessary. 2. He examines ap¬ 
plicants for teachers’ certificates and grants them to those he 
finds qualified. 3. He holds annually a teachers’ institute 
and other meetings for the instruction of teachers. 4. He 
examines the books of the township treasurers, gives instruction 
how to keep them and reports irregularities to the Boards of 
Trustees. 5. He inspects and approves and safely keeps the 
bonds of township treasurers. 6. Each year he receives the 
school money paid by the state to the county and distributes 
this to the township treasurers as required by law. 7. From 
the records of his office and the reports from the Boards of 
Trustees he makes an annual report to the State Superintendent 
of Public Instruction of the moneys received and expended, 
the number of schools and teachers, and the attendance of pupils. 
8. He collects a fee of $1.00 from every applicant for a teacher’s 
certificate, and with this fund he pays for the teachers’ institute. 

The Recorder of Deeds.— His duty is to keep a record 
of all deeds, mortgages and other papers which show title to 
land. These records are of great value. A deed is a paper 
showing that a piece of land belongs to the holder. If it be 
lost the books of the recorder still show his title and he can 
get a copy. 

A mortgage is a paper which shows that the holder has loaned 


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money to the owner of the land, who cannot give a good title 
until the mortgage is paid. If the borrowed money is not 
paid when due, the land is sold by an officer and the mortgage 
is paid off. What is not required for this and the expenses is 
turned over to the owner. 

From the recorder’s book a complete history of a piece of 
land may be obtained. This is called an abstract oj title. 
Before one buys a piece of land he should secure an abstract 
that he may know whether his title is good or faulty. 

Judicial Department. — The county officers which we have 
studied are executive, for their duty is to enforce the law. 
Now we come to another kind. They are called judicial , 
for they explain the law and decide whether it has been violated 
by persons accused of so doing. 

The County Judge. — The county judge constitutes the 
county court. A court is said to have jurisdiction when it has 
a right by law to try a case. It has exclusive jurisdiction in 
all suits to sell real estate for taxes. In civil cases it has juris¬ 
diction in all cases where the amount in dispute is not more 
than $1000. In criminal cases it has jurisdiction in cases in 
which the punishment is not imprisonment in the penitentiary 
or death. 

If one is not satisfied with the decision of the county court, 
he may appeal to the circuit court. That is, he may have the 
case tried again in a higher court. It has appellate jurisdiction 
in cases tried before a justice of the peace. 

The Probate Judge. — The probate judge has charge of 
all matters that pertain to the settlement of estates of people 
who have died. Only a few counties have a probate court. 


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The probate business in most of the counties is so small that 
the county court acts in probate matters. 

If a deceased person owning property has left a will, the same 
is filed in the probate court. The judge then sees to it that the 
law is complied with. If the will was properly made by one 
qualified to make it, the court sees to it that everyone con¬ 
cerned gets his rights under the law. 

If the will is contrary to law the court sets it aside and divides 
property according to law. If there are heirs under twenty-one 
years of age, the court appoints a guardian. It is the duty of 
the guardian to manage the property for the minor and give 
a strict account of his trust to the judge. If he loses the prop¬ 
erty entrusted to him he must pay the heirs. If there are no 
minor heirs an administrator is appointed. His duty is to 
manage the property until it has been divided among the heirs 
as provided by the will. 

In cases of insane persons or one incapable of managing his 
property, the court appoints a conservator, whose business it 
is to manage the property and report to the court. 

The Probate Clerk. — Counties having a probate judge 
also have a probate clerk. His business is to keep the books, 
papers, and records of the probate court. In small counties 
the county clerk attends to this. 

The States Attorney. — The states attorney is the lawyer 
for the county. It is his duty to have all offenders against the 
criminal law arrested and brought into court for trial. He 
assists the grand jury in its investigations. He prosecutes 
criminals, that is, he tries to secure their conviction and pun¬ 
ishment. 

If a man has been robbed or otherwise wronged, he makes 


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complaint to the states attorney and gives him all the facts in 
his power that will lead to the detection of the criminal. The 
states attorney secures his arrest and indictment by the grand 
jury and conviction in court. The county and not the com¬ 
plainant pays the cost. 

He defends the county in case it is sued, and is also the 
legal adviser of county officers and justices in their official 
duties 

The Coroner. — If any one has died in an unknown way 
it is the duty of the coroner to call a jury, before which he 
examines witnesses to determine whether the death was from 
natural causes, accident or violence. If death resulted from 
an accident the jury tries to fix .the blame. If it is a case of 
murder the coroner tries to secure the arrest of the criminal. 

If the sheriff’s office becomes vacant, or the sheriff is person¬ 
ally interested in a suit in court, the coroner acts as sheriff. 

Juries 

Grand Jury. — In the olden times, when our ancestors lived 
in clans and tribes, their method of trying one accused of crime 
was to call good men to hear the evidence and decide the case. 
We still keep this method. The grand jury is a body of twenty- 
three men selected by the County Board of Supervisors, whose 
duty it is to meet and behind closed doors hear all complaints 
of crimes committed. Witnesses are called and sworn to tell 
the truth. But these are all on the side of the accuser. The 
witnesses for the accused are not called, indeed, the accused 
may not know that a case has been brought against him. It is 
not the business of the grand jury to try the case. It only 
examines into the case, and if there is evidence enough to 


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satisfy a majority of the jury that a crime may have been 
committed by a certain person, it finds a true bill against him. 
That is, it charges the accused with the crime and has him 
arrested and confined in jail to await trial by the court. An 
indictment is the paper which names the person, states what 
the crime is, and when and where it was committed. It also 
gives the names of the witnesses against him. 

It may be noted that an entirely innocent man may be in¬ 
dicted, but he has an opportunity to prove his innocence in 
court. 

The Petit Jury is a body of twelve men whose duty it is 
to sit in court and hear the evidence on both sides of a case 
and also what the lawyers on both sides have to say for their 
clients. When they have done this the judge instructs them 
what the law is in this case. The jury then retire to a room 
and talk over the case among themselves. They prepare their 
verdict. To convict or acquit, they must all agree to it. If 
they cannot all agree to one or the other they so report to the 
judge, who dismisses them. Then the case must be tried again 
before another jury. 

A Plaintiff is the man who accuses another in court. 
The Defendant is the man who is accused. 

Duties of a Judge. —When a case is tried by a jury the 
judge presides at the trial and sees to it that both plaintiff 
and defendant have a fair trial. The lawyer of each side tries 
to win the case and will do everything he can to influence the 
jury to decide in his favor. Often a lawyer will bring matters 
before the jury that the law does not allow. The judge stops 
him. He may try to make a witness say things he has no 


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right to say. The judge is there to prevent this. A lawyei 
may try to make the jury believe the law is different from 
what it really is. The judge prevents him from doing so. 

When a case is tried without a jury the judge sees to it that 
the case is properly tried and also hears the evidence and 
decides the case. 

Prisoners are kept safe in a building for that purpose called 
the jail. Here they are kept while they are waiting for the 
court to try their cases. The jail is also used as a place of 
punishment after the prisoner has been convicted. 

How the Poor are Cared for. — There are poor people 
who need help who would better stay in their homes. The 
supervisor supplies them with what they need and the county 
pays for it. There are others that are better off where there 
is some one to care for them. The county provides an in¬ 
firmary or poor house. This is usually on a farm, and some of 
the inmates are able to do some of the work in raising most 
of the food. Others can help with the work of the house. 
Those who are not able to do any work at all are cared for by 
attendants. 

By many it is thought to be a disgrace to go to the poor- 
house. It is so in the case of a person who has been able to 
do so but did not work and save enough to keep himself in 
his old age. But there are many who have been overtaken by 
sickness and calamity, and in their helplessness can no longer 
provide for themselves and have no relatives or friends who 
will do so. Old age overtakes some people who are without 
friends or means and it is no fault of their own. It is right 
that the people who are prosperous should pay the little to keep 
the unfortunate in comfort. 


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The Insane.— When a person has become insane he is 
brought into the county court, a jury is called, evidence is heard 
and a verdict is brought in. The county takes care of some of 
the insane at the poorhouse. Others arc sent to hospitals and 
the best means are used to cure them. When cured they are 
set free and sent home. 

If the relatives are able to do so, they are required to pay. 
If they are not able the county and state pay the bill. 

County Organization.— When a county is governed under 
county organization there are three county commissioners in¬ 
stead of the Board of Supervisors. This Board has the same 
duties and powers as the Board of Supervisors. Since there 
are no towns in these counties, there is no town government. 
The work done at town meetings is done bv the county com¬ 
missioners. 

The county is divided into election precincts by the com¬ 
missioners. While under township organization the elections 
are held in the towns. In a similar manner the county is divided 
into highway districts. Assessments are made and the taxes 
are collected by one of the county officers. 

It will be noted that under township organization the people 
have more to say in local government. Under county organi¬ 
zation local government is less expensive. There are nineteen 
counties under county organization. Cook County has a county 
government suitable to the big city of Chicago. There are 
fifteen county commissioners. Eighty-two counties have the 
township system. 

Elections.— Elections are held in the towns in April of every 
year for the election of town, city and school officers. General 
elections are held in November every two years. The year that 


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a president of the United States is elected is called a presiden¬ 
tial year. The election two years after is said to occur in 
the “off year.” At these general elections county, state and 
United States officials are elected. 

Voters. The law permits only men, native-born or nat¬ 
uralized, over twenty-one years of age, who are not idiots, 
insane or criminals, to vote for officers named in the state 
constitution. Women over twenty-one years of age, who are 
citizens and who meet the residence requirements, may vote for 
presidential electors, members of the state board of equaliza¬ 
tion, trustees of the state university, clerk of the appellate 
court, county surveyor, members of the board of assessors, 
members of the board of review, sanitary district trustees, 
school trustees, school directors, and for all officers of cities, 
villages and towns (except police magistrates) and upon all 
questions or propositions submitted to a vote of the electors 
of such municipalities or other political divisions of the state. 

Judges and Clerks of Elections. — At every election 
there is a certain number of men chosen to act as judges. 
At the voting place they see that the election is conducted 
according to law and that everything is fair and honest. 
•They count the votes after the polls are closed. Several men 
are chosen to act as clerks. They do the necessary writing. 

The poll book is a blank sheet of paper on which the name 
of everyone who votes is written by the clerks. One of the 
judges gives the voter a ballot, that is, a paper on which 
are the names of the people to be voted for, or on which he 
may write the name of the man he wishes to vote for. 
After he has prepared his ballot he hands it to another judge, 
who calls out the name of the voter that the clerk may write 


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it in the poll book, and then the judge puts the ballot in the 
ballot box. This is a box securely locked and having a slot 
in the lid just large enough to admit the ballot. 

After the polls are closed, that is, after the privilege of 
voting is ended, the judges and clerks count the ballots and 
keep a record and make out the papers required by law to show 
that the election was properly held and the result of the same. 

V. STATE GOVERNMENT 

We have now studied two kinds of government, town and 
county. These have to do with public affairs that are close to 
the people and which the people can attend to themselves. 
In the town the people themselves meet and decide what shall 
be done. In the county one man or more goes from each town 
to the county seat to help decide what shall be done. All the 
people in the town may know the supervisor and tell him 
what they want done. Then a large number of people know 
the county officers and can express their wishes. Where the 
government is not carried on by the people themselves, they 
are close enough to their representatives to have much to say 
in public matters. 

But there are some things for the public welfare that can be 
attended to by a few men for a much larger number of people, 
than is found in a county. To meet this condition the state 
government has been created. 

The Constitution.— The people cannot attend to these 
large affairs themselves; there are too many people. The 
plan is for the people to choose men in whom they have con¬ 
fidence to attend to these affairs for them. If they fail to do 
what the people like, they are not elected when their term of 
office expires. But it would not be safe to let the represenca- 


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155 


tives of the people guess at what the people want. Nor would 
it be best for the officials, the representatives of the people, to be 
dependent on the likes and dislikes of the people, for the people 
may change their opinions, and that very foolishly sometimes. 

The people, therefore, have written down as nearly as they 
can how they want their representatives to carry on the govern¬ 
ment. This instrument is called the constitution of Illinois. 
It is the supreme law of the state. No law may be passed 
which is forbidden by the constitution. It states what the 
offices shall be and the work that each shall do, and what the 
rights of the people are. There are some things that the people 
know they do not want done. These are mentioned in the 
constitution. Every officer is required, before he enters upon 
his duties, to take an oath that he will support the constitution. 

The constitution cannot contain all the laws that the people 
need, nor can it name all the officials which will be needed and 
just what they are to do. So the constitution states that the 
peoples’ representatives may make the laws that are necessary 
to secure the things the people need that are not mentioned in 
the constitution, but none of these laws may conflict with the 
constitution. 

The state government does not do all that needs to be done 
by government. There is still the United States that attends 
to many things which are forbidden to the state. The state 
makes the laws about the education of the people; about 
voting; about marriage; the rights of husband and wife, 
parent and child; master and servant; principal and agent; 
partnership; debts; insurance; corporations; and crimes 
against persons and property. From this you learn that the 
state government has to do with our conduct toward each 
other in our daily living. 


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The state cannot enter into treaties with other states or 
nations. It cannot make laws about money or carry on war. 
Nor can it make laws against other states. It is subordinate 
to the United States in this, that it must make no laws that 
conflict with the constitution, laws and treaties of the United 
States. All the principal officials must make oath that they 
will support the Constitution of the United States. Living up 
to this oath prevents them from obeying the state laws when 
they conflict with those of the United States. 

The constitution of Illinois provides for three departments 
of government, legislative, executive and judicial. 

The chief work of the legislative department is to make the 
laws. It does other things, such as appropriating the public 
money for the purpose for which it is to be used, but the making 
of laws is its chief work. 

Not only are new laws needed in the course of time, but old 
laws need to be done away with or changed. Every two years 
this department meets and spends from four to five months in 
doing its work. 


Legislative Department. 

The General Assembly. — The legislative department is 
vested in the general assembly often called the legislature. 
It is composed of two branches. One body of men is called 
the House of Representatives and the other the Senate. The 
House is supposed to be closer to the people and the Senate is 
supposed to be composed of abler men of longer experience in 
law making. 

This is the way a law is made. Any member who wishes may 
write what he thinks the law should be. This is called a bill. 
When he is given the privilege of handing in his bill, we say 


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he has introduced a bill. It is then read the first time and the 
presiding officer orders the bill to be sent to the proper commit¬ 
tee. This committee may change the bill if they see fit and 
then report it to the house in which it originated. It is then 
read the second time and is discussed by the members. Changes 
or amendments may be made by a majority vote. It is read 
a third time and debated. If it receives a majority at this 
reading it is passed and is sent to the other house of the General 
Assembly. It goes through the same process there and is sent 
to the governor. If he signs it, the bill becomes a law. It 
may be defeated by a failure to receive the sanction of either 
house or the governor. 

A committee may refuse to report a bill. It is then said to 
be killed in the committee. 

Even if the governor vetoes a bill it may become a law if 
»rwo-thirds of each house afterwards vote for it. 

The General Assembly has the power to choose a United 
States senator. If a candidate receives a majority in both 
houses he is elected. If he fails to receive a majority in,one 
house, the two houses meet together and take a vote. If a 
majority of the General Assembly in joint session votes for the 
candidate, he is elected. 

The General Assembly meets at the capitol every two years 
in January, after the election in November. The meetings 
come in the odd numbered years, as, 1913-1915. 

The Senate. — The state is divided into fifty-one senatorial 
districts numbered from i to 51 , each containing about the 
same number of people. Outside the city of Chicago they 
comprise one or more counties. One senator is elected from 
each district for a term of four years. In the odd numbered 


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districts they are elected in presidential years. In the even 
numbered districts they are elected two years after. So every 
session of the General Assembly the Senate is composed of 
members one-half of whom have had at least two years’ experi¬ 
ence as senator. 

The Lieutenant Governor is the presiding officer, but has a 
vote only when the vote of the Senate is a tie. 

The chief work of the Senate is to help make the laws. But 
besides this it has the power to approve or disapprove the 
appointment of men to office by the governor not filled by elec¬ 
tion or otherwise. When the Senate disapproves the governor’s 
appointment by a majority vote, he must nominate, someone 
else. 

The House of Representatives.— The House is com¬ 
posed of three men from each senatorial district. This makes 
153 members. They are all elected at the same time for a term 
of two years. 

Minority Representation. —Illinois has an unusual 

method of electing representatives. It is possible to elect sen¬ 
ators who are all Republicans if the Republicans are in majority 
in every district. But this is not true with the House. 

This is the way it works. Each voter has three votes for 
representative. As there are three to be elected from a district 
a voter may cast a vote for three men, or one and one-half 
votes for each of two men, or two votes for one and one for the 
other, or three votes for one man. 

A political party never nominates three men for representa¬ 
tives, for by so doing it would divide its votes so that it might 
lose two or all its candidates. Each of the strong parties 
nominate two candidates. The party that has the most votes 


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159 


may elect its two men. The party with the smaller vote is sure 
to elect one. This results in the weaker party having at least 
one member from each district. Thus you see the minority is 
represented even if the state is overwhelmingly for one party. 

This method gives even a third political party a chance to 
elect a candidate in some of the districts. The third party 
nominates only one man. Each voter casts three votes for 
him. As the second party divided its votes between two can¬ 
didates, the third party candidate may get the most votes, 
because he gets three votes from every voter of his party. 

The presiding officer of the House is called the Speaker and 
is elected by the members from among themselves. The 
Speaker is much more powerful in the House than the lieutenant 
governor is in the Senate. He appoints all committees and he 
has the power to make things go his way. 

Other officers are chosen who, however, are not members 
of the House. There are several clerks who keep the records; 
a door-keeper, who acts as policeman; a postmaster; an en¬ 
grossing clerk who writes out the bills in good form before they 
are sent to the governor. 

Executive Department. 

In the government of the United States it was thought best 
to entrust the enforcement of the laws to one man, the Presi¬ 
dent. Of cpurse one man cannot do the work alone. He 
must have thousands of people to help him, but if they are 
responsible to him for what they do, he is in reality the executive. 

In our state government the executive work is distributed 
among a number of officials. The governor is the chief executive 
for he has the most important executive duties to perform and 
he has some supervision over the others. The executive func- 


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tion is vested in the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of 
state, auditor of public accounts, treasurer, superintendent of 
public instruction, and attorney-general. 

These are elected by the people for a term of four years, 
except the treasurer, who is elected for two years and may not 
succeed himself. The superintendent of public instruction is 
elected in off years. There is also a treasurer elected at this 
time. The others are elected in presidential years. 

Each executive officer appoints his subordinates. Some of 
the governor’s appointments must be confirmed by the Senate. 

The Governor. —The governor is the chief executive and 
his duty is to see to it that the laws of the state are faithfully 
executed. 

Message.— At the beginning of each session the governor 
sends to the General Assembly a message in which he gives 
such information about the condition of the affairs of the state 
as will be most helpful in the making of laws. He recommends 
laws that he thinks ought to be enacted. He gives a complete 
report of the money received and paid out by him according to 
law. 

He also tells the Assembly what amount of money ought to 
be raised by taxation to pay the expenses of the state until the 
Assembly meets again. 

The governor has power to call the General Assembly to 
meet in extra session if he thinks such a meeting is necessary 
to the best interests of the state. If the two Houses cannot 
agree upon a date to adjourn, the governor can name the day. 
There are certain officers which he can appoint only with the 
consent of the Senate, and he may remove them and appoint 
others. If a person has been convicted of a crime the governor 


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may do several things; first, he may grant him a reprieve, 
that is, put off the punishment for a time, so that the person 
may get evidence that will give him a new trial; second, he 
may commute a sentence, that is, make the punishment less 
severe than the court did; third, he may pardon him, that is, 
set him free. You understand that even courts may make a 
mistake. It is well to have someone who can rectify it. Sup¬ 
pose a man had been convicted of a crime by his enemies 
swearing falsely in court, and sent to the penitentiary. It was 
then found that he was innocent. The governor can pardon 
him. Can you think of other cases where it would be right to 
pardon one convicted of crime? 

Making laws is an important work and should be done with 
great care. A great many people may suffer from a bad law. 
We require a bill to pass both Houses of the General Assembly. 
But to be still more careful we require the governor to examine 
it after it has passed both Houses. If he thinks it will be a 
good law he signs the bill, and it becomes a law. If he thinks 
it will be a bad law, he sends it back to the house where it orig¬ 
inated and states what his objections are. We say he vetoes 
the bill, he says no. If now two-thirds of each House votes 
for the bill it becomes a law anyway. 

The governor is commander-in-chief of the militia. The 
chief officers are appointed by him: the minor ones are elected 
by the troops. These soldiers live at home and are engaged 
in business the same as anyone else. Companies are formed 
only in the larger cities. They usually meet evenings to drill. 
It is only when they are called out by the governor for duty 
that they leave home. If a foe were to invade the state the gov¬ 
ernor would call out the militia to repel the invaders. If the 
laws are openly violated by so large a number that the local 


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authorities cannot stop them, the sheriff calls on the governor 
for assistance. He calls out a part of the militia to restore 
order. If the governor is not able by these means to restore 
order, he may call on the President of the United States for the 
regular troops. Thus you see that the governor may make 
the people obey the laws either by arresting them and having 
them punished by the courts, or he may have his soldiers cap¬ 
ture them or even kill them when necessary in case of open 
rebellion. Who is governor now? 

The Lieutenant-Governor. —This official is elected to 
take the place of the governor in case of vacancy. If the gov¬ 
ernor is temporarily absent from the state, the lieutenant- 
governor acts in his stead until his return. 

By virtue of his office he is also president of the Senate. 
He has no vote except to break a tie. He need not reside at 
the capital as the other executive officers do, but may engage 
in private business. 

The Secretary of State. —This official has a great many 
duties to perform and we can mention only a few of them. 
He takes care of the State House and grounds. Repairs, 
heating, janitors must be supervised by him. All supplies, 
such as blank books, ink, pens, pencils, paper and other supplies 
for the offices and the General Assembly are in his care, and 
are given out by him. He keeps the record of the official acts 
of the governor. Affixes the great seal of the state to all com¬ 
missions issued by the governor. All acts, laws and resolutions 
of the General Assembly are in his keeping. 

The Auditor of Public Accounts. — This official is really 
the book-keeper of the state. He keeps the accounts of all the 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


163 


business transacted by the state with the United States, other 
states, public officials, corporations and private citizens. He 
examines all claims or bills presented for payment by the state 
and decides whether they can properly be paid out of the public 
funds. Suppose a person has done work for the state. He 
takes his bill to the auditor. If he finds that the person was 
employed to do the work, that the work was done satisfactorily 
and that money was appropriated by the General Assembly for 
this purpose, he then makes a record of the claim and issues an 
order on the treasurer to pay the amount. This order, called 
a warrant, is presented to the treasurer, who pays it and makes 
a record of it. The auditor can order no bill paid unless the 
General Assembly has first authorized the expenditure of money 
for the purpose. The treasurer can pay no money out except 
on a warrant of the auditor. Before the treasurer can receive 
any money he must have an order from the auditor to do so. 
In this way the books of the auditor and the treasurer must 
agree both as to money received and paid out. 

The General Assembly fixes the amount of money to be 
raised by taxation. In this it is guided by the estimates given 
in the governor’s message. The auditor knows the assessed 
valuation of the property of the state. From these facts he can 
find the rate per cent of the tax. The county clerk in each 
county uses this rate in finding out what each person must pay 
for state taxes. 

The State Treasurer. — The treasurer receives, safely 
keeps and pays out the money of the state. Every month he 
reports to the auditor what he has received and paid out. 
The auditor has the same accounts in his books and thus he 
can readily tell whether the treasurer’s accounts are correct. 


164 CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

Any mistake or dishonesty on the part of the treasurer would 
be discovered by the auditor. 

The treasurer is required to give a good and sufficient bond 
of $500,000. In case he loses any of the state’s money the 
bondsmen must pay it to the state. 

Superintendent of Public Instruction. — This official is 
at the head of the public schools of the state. His duties are 
to counsel and advise with school teachers as to the best manner 
of conducting schools; to supervise all the common and public 
schools of the state; to advise and assist the county super¬ 
intendents of the state. Every two years he issues a report 
informing the governor and the General Assembly as to the 
conditions and needs of public education. He holds examina¬ 
tions for and grants state certificates to teach. 

The Attorney-General. —The attorney-general is the 
lawyer for the state. The state officials may not be lawyers 
and often need expert legal advice in the performance of their 
duties. They can call upon the attorney-general. 

He represents the state in court in all cases in which it is a 
party, either to defend the state or to prosecute offenders against 
the laws of the state. 

Other Executive Functions. — We have now studied the 
duties performed by the executive officers at the capital. But 
there is much to do in other parts of the state, chiefly in places 
where the state institutions are located. The officials who 
manage the work of these institutions are appointed by the 
governor. They are responsible to him and he is responsible 
for what they do. Usually a Board of Trustees is appointed 
by the governor to have the management of the institution. 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 165 

They have the management and appoint the superintendent 
and the minor employees. The governor expresses his wishes 
as to how he desires the institution managed and the trustees 
regard his wishes. These institutions are divided into several 
classes. 

Educational Institutions. 

The public schools of the state, as we have learned, are 
managed by the local Boards of Directors elected by the people. 
The people in the immediate community pay the taxes and 
send the children. It is right that they should have the manage¬ 
ment in a large measure. But the state maintains higher 
schools and pays for them with the state money. The governor 
is responsible for the manner in which they are conducted. 

The University of Illinois. — There are in Illinois many 
colleges and universities under the control of private corpora¬ 
tions or churches. Yet Illinois provides a first class university 
for the free instruction and training of her youth. Here both 
men and women may learn the things that will make them 
most useful to the world. It is located at Urbana in Cham¬ 
paign County. The trustees are elected by the people as the 
other state officials are elected. The governor, the president 
of the State Board of Agriculture and the superintendent of 
public instruction are ex-officio members. The University has 
a large fund obtained by the sale of land which was given to it 
by the United States government. This is loaned out and the 
interest applied to paying the expenses of the University. 
When more is needed the General Assembly appropriates it 
out of the taxes of the state. 

The State Normal University. — To prepare teachers for 


1()6 CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

the public schools of the state five normal schools were estab¬ 
lished and are maintained by the state. Instruction is free. 
The first one was established at Normal in McLean County. 
It is managed by a Board of fifteen trustees appointed by 
the governor. 

The Southern Illinois Normal University. —This 
school is at Carbondale in Jackson County, and is managed 
by a Board of five trustees appointed by the governor. 

The Northern Illinois State Normal School. — This 
school is at De Kalb in DeKalb County, and is managed by a 
Board of five trustees appointed by the governor. 

The Eastern State Normal School. —This is located at 
Charleston in Coles County. It also is controlled by a Board 
of five trustees appointed by the governor. 

The Western State Normal School. — This is located 
at Macomb in McDonough County, and is managed by a Board 
of five trustees appointed by the governor. 

These schools are all supported by the state and only a very 
small amount is paid by the students who attend. 

The Farmers’ Institute. —It was thought that if farmers 
could be interested in better ways of farming brought about by 
new knowledge, the state would be better off. The General 
Assembly appropriates an amount of money so that each 
county will have enough to pay some of the expenses. 

Each county has an institute which meets once a year in a 
two or three day meeting. Speakers from the Agricultural 
College of the State University and other expert formers give 
instruction. Each county sends three delegates to the State 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


167 


Institute held once a year. The Institute is managed by a 
Board of twenty-seven directors elected by the State Institute. 
It publishes a volume for free distribution of great value to the 
farmers. 

Charitable Institutions. 

You have learned that the aged and infirm who cannot 
support themselves are cared for by the county. There are a 
few in every county and a great many in the whole state who 
need more than food and shelter. Such are the insane, the 
feeble-minded, the deaf, the blind and other unfortunates. 

The Hospital for the Insane.— There are a great many 
insane in the state and ample provision is made for their treat¬ 
ment. Many become cured and return to their homes. If 
relatives are able to pay they are expected to do so. If they 
are not, the state bears the expense. Each hospital is con¬ 
trolled by a board of three trustees appointed by the governor. 

The northern hospital is located at Elgin in Kane County; 
the eastern at Kankakee in Kankakee County; the central at 
Jacksonville in Morgan County; the southern at Anna in 
Union County; the western at Watertown in Rock Island 
County. The asylum for the incurable insane is at Barton- 
ville, Peoria County. The asylum for insane criminals is at 
Chester in Randolph County. 

Institution for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb. 

— This institution is at Jacksonville. Here the children so 
afflicted are taught to do useful work and the usual school 
studies. They even learn to talk and to know what people 
say by watching the movements of the lips. 


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CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


The Institution for the Education of the Blina.— 

This institution is also at Jacksonville. The children are edu¬ 
cated and taught to do work so that they can earn a living. 

The Asylum for Feeble-minded Children. —This asy¬ 
lum is at Lincoln in Logan County. There are many children 
of such feeble minds that they can learn little in the public 
schools or at home. Thus they would grow up helpless and a 
burden to their relatives. In this institution there are teachers 
who understand so well what to do for such children that many 
of them learn to do useful work and become self-supporting. 

Eye and Ear Infirmary. —This institution is in Chicago. 
People who are too poor to obtain treatment for diseases of 
the eye and ear are here boarded and treated free of charge.- 

Soldiers’ Orphans’ Home. —This home is located at Nor¬ 
mal in McLean County. Here the orphans of Union soldiers 
may be cared for and educated. 

Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home. — Soldiers and sailors who 
are dependent upon public charity are provided a home at 
Quincy. There is also one at Danville, established and main¬ 
tained by the national government. 

Soldiers’ Widows’ Home. —This is at Wilmington, Will 
County. 

Industrial Home for the Blind. — In Chicago the state 
maintains a home for the blind who are older than those cared 
for at Jacksonville. They are taught trades that they may 
become self-supporting. 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


169 


Penal and Reformatory Institutions. 

These institutions are for the purpose of punishing those 
convicted of crime and for reforming them so that they may 
be law abiding citizens when they are released. 

The State Penitentiaries. —These are located at Joliet, 
Will County, and Chester, Randolph County. The prisoners 
confined here are those who are sentenced to remain for life, 
those for a comparatively long term, and those for a short term. 
Some are sent for an indeterminate term. By good behavior 
they may shorten their terms and be released on parole. The 
prisoners are placed at hard labor, are well fed and comfortably 
housed in cells. They have ample opportunity to read books 
and attend church services. While punishment is one of the 
aims, the chief aim is to return them to society as useful citizens. 

The State Reformatory. — This institution is located at 
Pontiac in Livingston County. It is not best to send boys to 
penitentiaries to associate with the men confined there. Hence 
a place has been provided where such as have committed crimes 
that would send men to the penitentiary may be sent. The age 
is from ten to sixteen years. If the court thinks best those 
under twenty-one may be sent there. 

The boys spend a half day at school and a half day at work 
learning some useful trade. Every effort is made to influence 
the boys to do the right. When the authorities think a boy 
can be safely set free he is given his liberty. Others are given 
their liberty on parole. This means that at stated periods the 
one in whose charge the boy is must report how the boy is 
doing. If he does wrong he is brought back to serve a longer 
term. 


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CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


State Home for Delinquent Boys. — This is not a place 
so much for punishment as the reformatory. Its purpose is 
to give bad boys a chance who are bad because they have had 
no chance to grow up otherwise. If parents cannot control 
their boys and train them to good habits they may go before 
the county court and have them sent to this home. Or anyone 
else who knows of a boy who is growing up bad and has no 
chance to do otherwise, may bring such proof before the court 
and have the boy sent here. The home is located at St. Charles 
in Kane County. It is on a farm of about one thousand acres. 
The boys live in cottages in groups of convenient size with a 
man and his wife to take charge of them. They spend part of 
the time in school and the rest in work upon the farm. 

State Home for Juvenile Female Offenders. —This is 
located at Geneva, Kane County. Its purpose is to do the 
same for girls that is done for boys at St. Charles. 

State Boards. 

The officials and institutions which we have studied do much 
of the work of enforcing the laws of the state, but there is much 
more to be done. This is entrusted to boards and commissions 
appointed by the governor and responsible to him. The name 
of these usually indicate clearly what work they do. 

The State Board of Agriculture manages the State 

Fair. 

Live Stock Commission looks after the live stock interest, 
such as the prevention of disease. 

Railroad and Warehouse Commission looks after the 
enforcement of laws pertaining to railroads and warehouses. 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


171 


The Inspectors of Mines see to it that the laws to secure 
the safety of miners are complied with. 

The Inspectors of Factories secure the enforcement of 
the laws forbidding the employment of children under fourteen 
years of age. There are yet others, but enough has been said 
to give us a clear idea of how the laws are enforced by the 
governor and his appointees. 


The Judicial Department. 

The Work of the Courts. — We have seen how laws are 
made and how they are enforced. It at first seems that this is 
all there is of government — the making and the enforcement 
of laws. If people could make no mistakes in making and 
enforcing laws this would be enough. 

It is possible that a law might be passed that is not right, 
it might be contrary to the constitution, and the General As¬ 
sembly that made it and the governor that signed it did not 
know that it was in conflict with the supreme law. It might 
happen that the officer who arrested the man had gotten the 
wrong man, an innocent man. It might be that the law does 
not mean what the executive officer thought it did and he had 
no right to arrest the man. 

That as few mistakes of this kind as possible may be made, 
we have created another department of government, the judicial, 
and we have selected a set of men whose business it is to see 
that the wrong man is not punished, and that the right one is, 
to explain the laws and to decide what so-called laws are not 
laws because they are unconstitutional. 

Though an executive officer may arrest a man, he may not 
punish him at once. He may arrest him and place him in jail 


172 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


for safe-keeping, until the judiciary, the court, meets, and is 
ready to hear the case. The executive then brings the pris¬ 
oner into court before the judge. 

The judge now lets the executive try to prove that he has 
the right man and that he violated a law. He lets the prisoner 
try to prove that he is not the man wanted, or that he did not 
violate a law because there is no such law as the executive 
thinks there is. If either side of the case is not satisfied with 
the decision of the court, it can appeal to a higher court and 
have the case tried. When the case is decided in the highest 
court, the decision must stand right or wrong. But with so 
much care cases are usually decided right. The places where 
cases are tried and decided are called the courts. We will 
study the state courts in the ascending order. We have already 
studied the justices and the county courts. 

The Circuit Court. — The state is divided into districts 
called circuits. Cook County is a circuit, but the others are 
composed each of several counties. It is called a circuit be¬ 
cause the judges are supposed to pass in a circle, holding court 
in each county of the district. 

Three judges are elected in each circuit to serve for a term 
of six years. The elections are held in June, when no other 
officers are elected. It is thought that this will prevent party 
politics entering into the choice of judges. Only one judge 
presides at a trial. 

Each county elects a circuit clerk who attends the sessions 
of the court and keeps the records and issues the papers ordered 
by the court. 

The sheriff of the county attends the sessions of the court, 
preserves order, serves papers, and makes arrests, safely keeps 
the prisoners, and obeys the orders of the court. 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


173 


The circuit court has original jurisdiction in all criminal 
and civil cases between citizens of the state. This means that 
all such cases may be begun in this court. 

It has appellate jurisdiction in all cases tried in the justices 
and county courts. This means that it may try again all 
cases appealed from the lower courts. 

The Master in Chancery is a lawyer appointed by the 
circuit judge to investigate minor matters and report to the 
court. If heirs to property are unable to agree how to divide 
it the master in chancery sells the property and divides the 
money justly between the heirs. If a mortgage becomes due 
and payment is not made the master sells the property, pays 
the claim, and returns what is left to the original owner. 

In the circuit court cases are tried by the judge or by a jury. 
If the judge tries the case, he not only conducts the trial but 
also decides it. If it is tried before a jury he conducts the 
trial, but the jury decides the case. 

Selecting a Jury. — When a jury is wanted men are brought 
into court by the sheriff and are examined before the judge by 
both sides in the case, to find out if they are fit and desirable 
men. If either side objects to a man serving, the judge excuses 
him and another is examined, until twelve men are found who 
are acceptable to both sides. Sometimes much time is con¬ 
sumed and many men rejected before a satisfactory jury is found. 

When a juryman has been selected he is not allowed to talk 
with any one outside the court. The sheriff sees to it that no 
one outside the court influences the jury. 

A Jury Trial. —The plaintiff’s lawyer produces the wit¬ 
nesses to show that the accused is guilty as charged. The 


174 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


lawyer for the defendant produces the witnesses to prove that 
he is not guilty as charged. The judge sees to it that this is 
done in the right way, so that each side has a fair chance. 
The jury listens to the evidence. When all the evidence is in 
the lawyer for the plaintiff speaks to the jury and tries to show 
that the evidence proves his side in the right. The lawyer for 
the defence then speaks to the jury and tries to show that his 
side is in the right. When the evidence is before the jury and 
the pleadings ended, the judge charges the jury; that is, he tells 
them what the law in the case is and what they must do if they 
find the evidence so and so. 

The jury is now sent to a room to decide on a verdict. Here 
they are kept until all agree to the finding. If they cannot 
agree they so report to the court. 

If the accused is found guilty the judge pronounces sentence. 
If he is found not guilty the judge sets him free. If the jury 
disagrees the trial is a failure and the case must be tried again 
by another jury. 

Some cases may be appealed from the circuit to the appellate 
court, and others to the supreme court. 

The Appellate Courts. — The state is divided into four 
districts called Appellate Court Districts. The court meets 
at Chicago, Ottawa, Springfield and Mt. Vernon. Three 
judges from among the circuit court judges are appointed by 
the supreme court of the state for each district, to serve for a 
term of three years. Two terms of court are held in each 
district each year. 

When holding court the three judges hear the cases and ren¬ 
der the decision. The case may be decided by two judges 
agreeing in the verdict. 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


175 


This court can try cases only which have been appealed 
from a lower court. It cannot try criminal cases. Its decision 
in minor cases is final, but in important cases an appeal may 
be taken to the supreme comt. 

The Supreme Court. —The state is divided into seven 
districts for the purpose of electing a supreme judge from 
each district. The term of office is nine years. In trying cases 
all sit as a court, and it takes an agreement of at least four to 
render a decision. The court meets at Springfield. 

They elect one of their own number, usually the one who 
has served the longest, to be chief justice. 

This court has original jurisdiction in cases relating to the 
revenues of the state, in cases of mandamus , and habeas corpus , 
but most of its work is trying cases appealed from the lower 
courts. 

By mandamus is meant a case like this. If an officer refuses 
to do his duty as an officer, complaint may be made to a court. 
The court calls the officer before it, and if it is proved that he 
did not do his duty, the court commands him to do it. Should 
he not obey the court he would be punished. 

By habeas corpus is meant a case like this. If a sheriff tooK 
a man and placed him in jail without an order from the court, 
where such an order was necessary, he would be improperly 
and unlawfully held. But if there was no remedy, he would 
be compelled to suffer for months before his case could be 
tried. The prisoner may apply to a court and the court will 
grant him a writ of habeas corpus. This compels the sheriff 
to bring him into court. 

If it is now shown that ne was improperly arrested and is 
being unlawfully held, he is discharged. But this does not 


17(J 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


prove him innocent. The sheriff may now arrest him in a 
legal way and hold him. If it is proved that he was properly 
arrested, he is sent back to jail to await trial. 

The decision of the supreme court is final and there is no 
appeal. In criminal cases the court may make a mistake. 
It may have ordered an innocent man hanged or imprisoned. 
The only relief is a pardon for the prisoner by the governor. 

If it can be shown that the case is one in which a United 
States law is in question an appeal may be taken from the 
supreme court to the United States court. 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


177 


QUESTIONS ON THE GOVERNMENT OF ILLINOIS 

1. If each person lived by himself how might he conduct himself? 

2. What restrictions must each recognize if two persons live to¬ 
gether? 

3. How must people who live in groups conduct themselves? 

4. Who is the business head of the family? 

5. What is the mother’s responsibility in the family? 

6. What is the relation of the children in the family? 

7. Why must the school have rules? 

8. Who has the responsibility of seeing that the laws are enforced? 

9. How may a public meeting be conducted to advantage? 

10. How is a village or city governed? 

11. What is a state? 

12. Name three general classes of officers in the state government? 

13. Explain how and why the clan was formed. 

14. How were tribes formed? Nations? 

15. Describe a paternal government. 

16. Compare a paternal government and a republic. 

17. What is a monarchy? A limited monarchy? 

18. How many states in the United States? 

19. What law must all states obey? The United States? 

20. What is a State Constitution? A statute? 

21. How many counties in Illinois? 

22. What is a town, a township, a school district? 

I School Government 

1. How many directors are there in a country school district and 
what length of term does each serve? 

2. What officers are elected on the board and what are the duties 
of each? 

3. Who determines the amount of school tax to be levied? 

4. How is the teacher selected? 

5. Under what conditions is the school like a republic? Like a 
monarchy? Which form is the better? 

6. State some facts regarding the duties of school trustees. 

7. How may a township high school be formed? What advan¬ 
tages does it offer? 

8. How many members has a Board of Education? What popula¬ 
tion is necessary for such a board? Who is the principal executive 
officer of a Board of Education? 


178 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


9. How do teachers obtain a permit to teach? 

10. Give some of the duties of the county superintendent. 

II Town Government 

1. Explain what is meant by a town. 

2. What provision is usually made for town elections? 

3. Who is the chief officer of the town? 

4. Name six important duties of this officer. 

5. Give three duties of the town clerk. 

6. What are the duties of the assessor? 

7. What books are furnished the assessor and what use does he 
make of them? 

8. What officer figures out the amount of each person’s tax? 

9. Who collects the taxes and how does he dispose of the money 
so collected? 

10. What happens if the owner neglects to pay his taxes? 

11. What body of men look after the roads and bridges and how is 
this Board organized? 

12. Name two kinds of suits which may be tried before the justice 
of the peace. Illustrate each. 

13. What is a misdemeanor? A felony? An assault? Assault and 
battery? 

14. What is meant by furnishing bail? 

15. Give the duties of the constable. 

16. What is a warrant? 

17. When are the town elections held? 

18. Describe the town meeting and give eight matters of business 
which may come up. 

19. What is a township? What is its purpose? 

20. Describe the manner in which the township is divided. 

21. What is the principal meridian? What principal meridian is 
used in describing most of the Illinois townships? 

22. Explain what is-meant by range, base line. 

23. On the map select townships and give their legal descriptions. 

Ill City Government 

1. How may a village government be organized? 

2. What is a charter? 

3. What officers are provided for in a village government? 

4. How is a city divided? What is the-city council? 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


179 


5. Give the duties of the mayor, the city clerk, the city treasurer. 

6. Who is the police magistrate? What are his duties? 

7. What are the duties of the city attorney? The marshal? The 
policemen? 

8. Give a list of the duties which require the attention of the city 
government. 

IV. County Government 

1. Into how many counties is Illinois divided? 

2. How do they vary in size? 

3. What two kinds of government prevail in different parts of 
the state? 

4. How is the Board of Supervisors formed? How organized? 

5. What is the first business of the chairman? 

6. What are some of the committees and what duties do they per¬ 
form? 

7. Give a complete list of the powers and duties of the Board of 
Supervisors. 

8. How are the petit juries selected? 

9. Give the first six duties of the county clerk as listed in the text. 

10. Explain how county money is paid out. 

11. What does the county clerk have to do with the taxes? 

12. Who issues the ballots and election supplies for elections? 

13. Explain how the official count of elections is made. 

14. Who is the chief peace officer of the county? 

15. How are the prisoners cared for? In case of conviction how are 
prisoners conveyed to the penitentiary? 

16. How does the sheriff aid the business of the county and circuit 
court? 

17. In case of emergencies how may the sheriff increase the size 
of his force? 

18. In extreme cases tell how help may be obtained to aid in keeping 
order. 

19. What officer has charge of the public money? 

20. In what cases does he not receive all of the taxes and in those 
cases how does he know that the money has been distributed according 
to law? 

21. Who checks up the accounts of the county treasurer? 

22. Who is Supervisor of Assessments and what are his duties? 

23. Of what does the Board of Review consist? 

24. What are the duties of the Board of Review? 


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CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


25. State the duties of the county surveyor. 

26. Why may the county superintendent of schools be considered 
both a state and. a county officer? 

27. Give eight duties required of the county superintendent. 

28. What important duties are required of the recorder? 

29. What is a mortgage? An abstract of title? 

30. To what department of government does the county judge belong? 

31. What is meant by a court having jurisdiction? 

32. Name three kinds of cases in which the county court has juris¬ 
diction? 

33. Is the decision of the county court always final? 

34. Why do many counties have no probate court? 

35. Give the duties of the probate judge regarding the disposition 
of a lawful will. An unlawful will. 

36. How' is the property of an insane person cared for? 

37. What are the duties of the probate clerk? 

38. Who is the lawyer for the county? 

39. Give three duties of the state’s attorney. 

40. How may one who has been robbed or wronged gain redress? 

41. When anyone dies in an unusual manner, who takes charge of the 
body? What procedure is followed? 

42. In what other capacity may the coroner act? 

43. What was the early method of trying one accused of crime? 

44. How many members compose the grand jury and how are they 
selected? 

45. What are the duties of the grand jury? 

46. What is an indictment? 

47. What is a petit jury and what are the duties of this jury? 

48. Give the meaning of the terms plaintiff and defendant. 

49. Give some reasons why a judge must be very alert and thor¬ 
oughly posted in the law when a case is being tried before him. 

50. What is the jail and how is it used? 

51. How is help furnished to the needy? 

52. What is the purpose of the county poorhouse or farm and how 
is it managed? 

53. Explain how it may be no disgrace to go to the poorhouse. 

54. When a person becomes insane how is his case disposed of? 

55. Under county organization what takes the place of the Board 
of Supervisors? 

56. Which form, township or county organization, gives the people 
more to say in local government? Which is less expensive? 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


181 


57. How many counties are under county organization? Under the 
township system? 

58. How is Cook County governed? 

59. What officers are elected at the April elections? 

60. When are the general elections held? 

61. What is meant by the “off year”? 

62. What officers are elected at the general elections? 

63. Who are legal voters? 

64. For what officers may women vote? 

65. What are the residence requirements for one to vote? 

66. What are the duties of the election judges and clerks? 

67. Explain the procedure that is followed at an election. 

V. State Government 

1. Explain how the town, county and state governments differ in 
their general characteristics. 

2. Why is a State Constitution very necessary? 

3. To what must all laws conform? 

4. What oath must all officers take before entering upon their duties? 

5. What provision is made for adding new laws when they are needed? 

6. Name several matters in which the state laws have complete 
charge. 

7. In what matters is the state government subordinate to the 
United States government? 

8. What three departments of government are provided for in the 
Illinois constitution? 

9. Of what branches is the general assembly or legislature composed? 

10. What is the general supposition regarding the members of these 
two branches? 

11. Explain the process by which a law is made. 

12. How may a bill become a law if the governor vetoes it? 

13. How often does the general assembly meet and in what years? 

14. What is a senatorial district? For how long a term is a senator 
elected and what provision is made so that at least half of the membership 
shall be men of experience in that body? 

15. Who is the presiding officer in the senate? 

16. What power in addition to making laws is given the senate? 

17. Of how many members does the House of Representatives con¬ 
sist and when are they elected? 

18. Explain what is meant by minority representation, 

19. How does this plan help a third party candidate? 


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20. Who presides in the House and what may be said of his power? 

21. What other officers are chosen to aid in transacting the business 
of the House? 

22. Who is the chief executive of the state? 

23. Name the other state executives and tell of their length of term 
and date of election. 

24. What is the purpose of the governor’s message? 

25. Who may call an extra session of the general assembly and under 
what conditions? 

25. State some of the things a governor may do when a person is 
convicted of crime. Why is this an important duty? 

27. Why is it important that the governor has the power of veto? 

28. Explain the plan under which the state militia is maintained. 

29. When may the state militia be called out? 

30. In extreme cases, what additional help may be secured to keep 
order? 

31. What are the duties of the lieutenant-governor? 

32. Give some of the duties of the secretary of state. 

33. Who is the state book-keeper? 

34. What accounts does he keep? 

35. What claims and bills does he examine? 

36. How do the auditor’s and the treasurer’s books compare? 

37. Who determines the rate of the state tax and how? 

38. Who receives and pays out the money of the state? 

39. Give some of the duties of the superintendent of public instruc¬ 
tion. 

40. Who is the lawyer for the state and what are some of his duties? 

41. How are the state institutions managed? 

42. Who is responsible for the management of the state schools? 

43. Tell about the University of Illinois, its purpose, location, 
trustees and funds. 

44. Name and locate the five state normal schools. 

45. How are the normal schools managed? 

46. What prompted the organization of the Farmer’s Institute? 

47. How is the influence of the Farmer’s Institute extended throughout 
the state? 

48. Why are state charitable institutions necessary? 

49. What desirable results often follow the treatment of the insane 
at the state institutions? 

50. Name and locate the state institutions for the insane. 

51. What aid is given to the deaf and dumb? 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


183 


52. How are the blind cared for? 

53. What provision is made for the education of the feeble-minded? 

54. Name five other institutions located within the state and give 
the form of charity each extends. 

55. Name and locate the state penitentiaries. 

56. How are these prisoners treated and what is the chief aim of 
the institution? 

57. Why was a state reformatory provided for boys? Where is it 
located? 

58. At what ages may offenders be sent to Pontiac? 

59. Tell something of the plan followed in this institution. 

60. What provision has the state made to aid delinquent boys? 
Offending girls? 

61. Name five state boards and tell of the duties of each. 

62. What is the third division of our state government? 

63. Tell some reasons why the judicial department is necessary? 

64. Who arrests the supposed offender? 

65. Tell how the law proceeds to establish a man’s guilt or innocence. 

66. If the decision of the court is not satisfactory what may be done? 

67. Why is the term Circuit Court used? 

68. How many judges in each circuit, what is the term of office and 
when are the elections held? 

69. What officer is elected in each county to aid in the transaction 
of the business of the court? 

70. What duties has the sheriff in the circuit court? 

71. In what cases has the circuit court jurisdiction? 

72. In what cases does it have appellate jurisdiction? 

73. What are the duties of the master in chancery? 

74. Explain how a jury is selected. 

75. Explain how a juiy trial is conducted as to the prosecution, the 
defence, the lawyers’ pleas and charging the jury. 

76. If the jury fail to agree what is the result? 

77. Where are the appellate courts located? 

78. How are the appellate judges selected? 

79. How are the cases tried and how decided? 

80. Tell of the cases which may be tried in the appellate court. 

81. How many members compose the Supreme Court and how many 
must agree to render a decision? 

82. What is the term of office and where do they hold court? 

83. In what cases has the supreme court jurisdiction? 

84. What is meany by mandamus? Habeas corpus? 

85. When may a decision given by the Supreme Court be appealed? 


































































































• 

































CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS 


ADOPTED IN CONVENTION AT SPRINGFIELD, MAY 13, A. D. 1870 

Ratified by the People July 2, 1870; in force August 8 , 1870; 

Amended in 1878 , 1880, 1884, 1886 an d 1890 

PREAMBLE 

We, the People of the State of Illinois—grateful to Al¬ 
mighty God for the civil, political and religious liberty which 
he hath so long permitted us to enjoy, and looking to him for 
a blessing upon our endeavors to secure and transmit the 
same unimpaired to succeeding generations — in order to 
form a more perfect government, establish justice, insure 
domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defense, pro¬ 
mote the general welfare, and secure the blessing of liberty 
to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this 
Constitution for the State of Illinois. 

ARTICLE I. 

BOUNDARIES 

The boundaries and jurisdiction of the State shall be as 
follows, to-wit: Beginning at the mouth of the Wabash 
river; thence up the same, and with the line of Indiana to 
the northwest corner of said State; thence east, with the 
line of the same State, to the middle of Lake Michigan; 
thence north along the middle of said lake to north latitude 

185 


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forty-two degrees and thirty minutes, thence west to the 
middle of the Mississippi river, and thence down along the 
middle of that river to its confluence with the Ohio river, and 
thence up the latter river along its northwestern shore to 
the place of beginning: Provided , that this State shall exer¬ 
cise such jurisdiction upon the Ohio river as she is now en¬ 
titled to, or such as may hereafter be agreed upon by this 
State and the State of Kentucky. 

ARTICLE II. 

BILL OF RIGHTS 

Section 1. All men are by nature free and independent, 
and have certain inherent and inalienable rights — among 
these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. To 
secure these rights and the protection of property, govern¬ 
ments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers 
from the consent of the governed. 

Sec . 2. No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or 
property without due process of law. 

See. 3. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious pro¬ 
fession and worship, without discrimination, shall forever be 
guaranteed; and no person shall be denied any civil or 
political right, privilege or capacity on account of his religious 
opinions; but the liberty of conscience hereby secured shall 
not be construed to dispense with oaths or affirmations, 
excuse acts of licentiousness, or justify practices incon¬ 
sistent with the peace or safety of the State. No person 
shall be required to attend or support any ministry or place 
of worship against his consent, nor shall any preference be 
given by law to any religious denomination or mode of worship. 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


187 


Sec. 4. Every person may freely speak, write and publish 
on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that liberty; 
and in all-trials for libel, both civil and criminal, the truth, 
when published with good motives and for justifiable ends, 
shall be a sufficient defense. 

Sec. 5. The right of trial by jury, as heretofore enjoyed, 
shall remain inviolate; but the trial of civil cases before 
justices of the peace, by a jury of less than twelve men, may 
be authorized by law. 

Sec. 6. The right of the people to be secure in their 
persons, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable 
searches and seizures, shall not be violated; and no warrant 
shall issue without probable cause, supported by affidavit, 
particularly describing the place to be searched, and the 
persons or things to be seized. 

Sec. 7. All persons shall be bailable by sufficient sureties, 
except for capital offenses, where the proof is evident or the 
presumption great; and the privilege of the writ of habeas 
corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion 
or invasion the public safety may require it. 

Sec. 8. No person shall be held to answer for a criminal 
offense, unless on indictment of a grand jury, except in cases 
in which the punishment is by fine, or imprisonment other¬ 
wise than in the penitentiary, in cases arising in the army 
and navy, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of 
war or public danger: Provided, that the grand jury may be 
abolished by law in all cases. 

Sec. 9. In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall have 
the right to appear and defend in person and by counsel; 
to demand the nature and cause of the accusation, and to 
have a copy thereof; to meet the witnesses face to face, 


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and to have process to compel the attendance of witnesses in 
his behalf, and a speedy public trial by an impartial jury 
of the county or district in which the offense is alleged to have 
been committed. 

Sec. 10. No person shall be compelled in any criminal 
case to give evidence against himself, or be twice put in 
jeopardy for the same offense. 

Sec. 11. All penalties shall be proportioned to the nature 
of the offense; and no convictions shall work corruption of 
blood or forfeiture of estate; nor shall any person be trans¬ 
ported out of the State for any offense committed within the 
same. 

Sec. 12. No person shall be imprisoned for debt, unless 
upon refusal to deliver up his estate for the benefit of his 
creditors, in such manner as shall be prescribed by law; or 
in cases where there is strong presumption of fraud. 

Sec. 13. Private property shall not be taken or damaged 
for public use without just compensation. Such compensa¬ 
tion, when not made by the State, shall be ascertained by a 
jury, as shall be prescribed by law. The fee of land taken 
for railroad tracks, without consent of the owners thereof, 
shall remain in such owners, subject to the use for which 
it is taken. 

I Sec. 14. No ex post facto law, or law impairing the obliga¬ 
tion of contracts, or making any irrevocable grant of special 
privileges or immunities, shall be passed. 

Sec. 15. The military shall be in strict subordination to the 
civil power. 

Sec. 16. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered 
in any house without the consent of the owner; nor in time 
of war except in the manner prescribed by law. 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


189 


Sec. 17. The people have the right to assemble in a peace¬ 
able manner to consult for the common good, to make known 
their opinions to their representatives, and to apply for 
redress of grievances. 

Sec. 18. All elections shall be free and equal. 

Sec . 19. Every person ought to find a certain remedy in 
the laws for all injuries and wrongs which he may receive 
in his person, property, or reputation; he ought to obtain 
by law, right and justice freely, and without being obliged 
to purchase it, completely and without denial, promptly and 
without delay. 

Sec. 20. A frequent recurrence to the fundamental 
principles of civil government is absolutely necessary to pre¬ 
serve the blessings of liberty. 

ARTICLE III. 

DISTRIBUTION OF POWERS. 

The powers of the government of this State are divided 
into three distinct departments — the Legislative, Executive 
and Judicial; and no person, or collection of persons, being 
one of these departments, shall exercise any power properly 
belonging to either of the others, except as herinafter expressly 
directed or permitted. 


ARTICLE IV. 

LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 

Section 1. The legislative power shall be vested in a general 
assembly, which shall consist of a senate and house of repre¬ 
sentatives, both to be elected by the people. 


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ELECTION. 

Sec. 2. An election for members of the general assembly 
shall be held on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in 
November, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred 
and seventy, and every two years thereafter, in each county, 
at such places therein as may be provided by law. When 
vacancies occur in either house, the governor, or person 
exercising the powers of governor, shall issue writs of election 
•to fill such vacancies. 

ELIGIBILITY AND OATH. 

Sec. 3. No person shall be a senator who shall not have 
attained the age of twenty-five years, or a representative who 
shall not have attained the age of twenty-one years. No 
person shall be a senator or a representative who shall not be 
a citizen of the United States and who shall not have been for 
five years a resident of this State, and for two years next 
preceding his election a resident within the territory forming 
the district from which he is elected. No judge or clerk of 
any court, secretary of state, attorney general, state’s attorney, 
recorder, sheriff, or collector of public revenue, members 
of either house of congress, or persons holding any lucrative 
office under the United States or this State, or any foreign 
government, shall have a seat in the general assembly: 
Provided: that appointments in the militia, and the offices 
of notary public and justice of the peace, shall not be con¬ 
sidered lucrative. Nor shall any person holding any office 
of honor or profit under any foreign government, or under 
the government of the United States (except postmasters 
whose annual compensation does not exceed the sum of three 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


191 


hundred dollars) hold any office of honor or profit under the 
authority of this State. 

Sec. 4. No person who has been, or hereafter shall be 
convicted of bribery, perjury or other infamous crime, nor 
any person who has been or may be a collector or holder of 
public moneys, who shall not have accounted for and paid 
over, according to law, all such moneys due from him, shall 
be eligible to the general assembly, or to any office of profit 
or trust in this State. 

Sec. 5. Members of the general assembly, before they 
enter upon their official duties, shall take and subscribe the 
following oath or affirmation: 

“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the Constitution 
of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Illinois, and 
will faithfully discharge the duties of senator (or representative) ac¬ 
cording to the best of my ability; and that I have not knowingly or 
intentionally paid or contributed anything, or made any promise in the 
nature of a bribe to directly or indirectly influence any vote at the election 
at which I was chosen to fill the said office, and have not accepted, nor 
will I accept or receive, directly or indirectly, any money or other valua- 
able thing from any corporation, company or person for any vote or 
influence I may give or withhold on any bill, resolution or appropriation, 
or for any other official act.” 

This oath shall be administered by a judge of the supreme 
or circuit court in the hall of the house to which the member 
is elected, and the secretary of state shall record and file 
the oath subscribed by each member. Any member who 
shall refuse to take the oath herein prescribed shall forfeit 
his office, and every member who shall be convicted of having 
sworn falsely to, or of violating, his said oath, shall forfeit his 
office and be disqualified thereafter from holding any office 
of profit or trust in this State. 


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APPORTIONMENT — SENATORIAL. 

Sec. 6. The general assembly shall apportion the State 
every ten years, beginning with the year one thousand eight 
hundred and seventy-one, by dividing the population of the 
State, as ascertained by the iederal census, by the number 
fifty-one, and the quotient shall be the ratio of representa¬ 
tion in the senate. The State shall be divided into fifty-one 
senatorial districts, each of which shall elect one senator, 
whose term of office shall be four years. The senators elected 
in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and 
seventy-two, in districts bearing odd numbers, shall vacate 
their offices at the end of two years, and those elected in 
districts bearing even numbers at the end of four years, and 
vacancies occurring by the expiration of term shall be filled 
by the election of senators for the full term. Senatorial 
districts shall be formed of contiguous and compact territory, 
bounded by county lines, and contain as near as practicable 
an equal number of inhabitants; but no district shall contain 
less than four-fifths of the senatorial ratio. Counties con¬ 
taining not less than the ratio 'and three-fourths may be 
divided into separate districts, and shall be entitled to two 
senators, and to one additional senator for each number of 
inhabitants equal to the ratio contained by such counties 
in excess of twice the number of said ratio. 

REPRESENTATIVES. 

Sec. 7. The population of the State, as ascertained by the 
federal census, shall be divided by the number one hundred 
and fifty-three, and the quotient shall be the ratio of repre- 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


193 


sentation in the house of representatives. Every county or 
district shall be entitled to one representative, when its 
population is three-fifths of the ratio; if any county has less 
than three-fifths of the ratio, it shall be attached to the ad¬ 
joining county having the least population, to which no other 
county has, for the same reason, been attached, and the two 
shall constitute a separate district. Every county or district 
having a population not less than the ratio and three-fifths, 
shall be entitled to two representatives, and for each addi¬ 
tional number of inhabitants, equal to the ratio, one repre¬ 
sentative. Counties having over two hundred thousand 
inhabitants, may be divided into districts, each entitled to 
not less than three nor more than five representatives. After 
the year one thousand eight hundred and eighty, the whole 
population shall be divided by the number one hundred and 
fifty-nine, and the quotient shall be the ratio of representation 
in the house of representatives for the ensuing ten years, and 
six additional representatives shall be added for every five 
hundred thousand increase of population at each decennial 
census thereafter, and be apportioned in the same manner 
as above provided. 

Sec. 8. When a county or district shall have a fraction 
of population above what shall entitle it to one representative, 
or more, according to the provisions of the foregoing section, 
amounting to one-fifth of the ratio, it shall be entitled to one 
additional representative in the fifth term of each decennial 
period; when such fraction is two-fifths of the ratio, it shall 
be entitled to an additional representative in the fourth and 
fifth terms of said period; when the fraction is three-fifths 
of the ratio, it shall be entitled to an additional representative 
in the first, second and third terms, respectively; when a 


194 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


fraction is four-fifths of the ratio, it shall be entitled to an 
additional representative in the first, second, third and fourth 
terms, respectively. 

Note. — By the adoption of minority representation, Sections 7 and 
8 of this article, above set forth, cease to be a part of the Constitution. 
Under Section 12 of the schedule, and the vote of adoption, the fol¬ 
lowing section relating to minority representation is substituted for 
said sections: 


MINORITY REPRESENTATION. 

Secs. 7 and 8. The house of representatives shall consist 
of three times the number of the members of the senate, and 
the term of office shall be two years. Three representatives 
shall be elected in each senatorial district at the general 
election in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred 
and seventy-two, and every two years thereafter. In all 
elections of representatives aforesaid, each qualified voter 
may cast as many votes for one candidate as there are 
representatives to be elected, or may distribute the same, 
or equal parts thereof, among the candidates, as he shall 
see fit; and the candidates highest in votes shall be declared 
elected. 


TIME OF MEETING AND GENERAL RULES. 

Sec. 9. The sessions of the general assembly shall com¬ 
mence at twelve o’clock noon, on the Wednesday next after 
the first Monday in January, in the year next ensuing the 
election of members thereof, and at no other time, unless as 
provided by this Constitution. A majority of the members 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


195 


elected to each house shall constitute a quorum. Each house 
shall determine the rules of its proceedings, and be the judge 
of the election returns and qualifications of its members; 
shall choose its own officers; and the senate shall choose a 
temporary president to preside when the lieutenant governor 
shall not attend as president, or shall act as governor. The 
secretary of state shall call the house of representatives to 
order at the opening of each new assembly, and preside over 
it until a temporary presiding officer thereof shall have been 
chosen and shall have taken his seat. No member shall be 
expelled by either house, except by a vote of two-thirds of 
all the members elected to that house, and no member shall 
be twice expelled for the same offense. Each house may 
punish by imprisonment any person not a member who shall 
be guilty of disrespect to the house by disorderly or con¬ 
temptuous behavior in its presence. But no such imprison¬ 
ment shall extend beyond twenty-four hours at one time, 
unless the person shall persist in such disorderly or con¬ 
temptuous behavior. 

Sec. 10. The door of each house and of committees of the 
whole shall be kept open, except in such cases as, in the opinion 
of the house, require secrecy. Neither house shall, without 
the consent of the other, adjourn for more than two days, 
or to any other place than that in which the two houses shall 
be sitting. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, 
which shall be published. In the senate, at the request of 
two members, and in the house, at the request of five members, 
the yeas and nays, shall be taken on any question, and entered 
upon the journal. Any two members of either house shall 
have liberty to dissent from and protest, in respectful lan¬ 
guage, against any act or resolution which they think in- 


196 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


jurious to the public or to any individual, and have the 
reasons of their dissent entered upon the journals. 

STYLE OF LAWS AND PASSAGE OF BILLS. 

Sec. 11. The style of the laws of this State shall be: 
u Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois , represented 
in the General Assembly. 

Sec. 12. Bills may originate in either house, but may be 
altered, amended or rejected by the other; and, on the final 
passage of all bills, the vote shall be by yeas and nays, upon 
each bill separately, and shall be entered upon the journal; 
and no bill shall become a law without the concurrence of a 
majority of the members elected to each house. 

Sec. 13. Every bill shall be read at large on three different 
days, in each house; and the bill and all amendments thereto 
shall be printed before the vote is taken on its final passage; 
and every bill, having passed both houses, shall be signed 
by the speakers thereof. No act hereafter passed shall em¬ 
brace more than one subject, and that shall be expressed in 
the title. But if any subject shall be embraced in an act 
which shall not be expressed in the title, such act shall be 
void only as to so much thereof as shall not be so expressed; 
and no law shall be revived or amended by reference to its 
title only, but the law revived, or the section amended, shall 
be inserted at length in the new act. And no act of the 
general assembly shall take effect until the first day of July 
next after its passage, unless, in case of emergency (which 
emergency shall be expressed in the preamble or body of the 
act), the general assembly shall, by a vote of two-thirds of all 
the members elected to each house, otherwise direct. 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


197 


PRIVILEGES AND DISABILITIES. 

Sec. 14. Senators and representatives shall, in all cases, 
except treason, felony or breach of the peace, be privileged 
from arrest during the session of the general assembly, and in 
going to and returning from the same; and for any speech 
or debate in either house, they shall not be questioned in any 
other place. 

Sec. 15. No person elected to the general assembly shall 
receive any civil appointment within this State from the 
governor, the governor and senate, or from the general 
assembly, during the term for which he shall have been 
elected; and all such appointments, and all votes given for 
any such members for any such office or appointment, shall 
be void; nor shall any member of the general assembly be 
interested, either directly or indirectly, in any contract with 
the State, or any county thereof, authorized by any law 
passed during the term for which he shall have been elected, 
or within one year after the expiration thereof. 

PUBLIC MONEYS AND APPROPRIATIONS. 

Sec. 16. The general assembly shall make no appropria¬ 
tion of money out of the treasury in any private law. Bills 
making appropriations for the pay of members and officers 
of the general assembly, and for the salaries of the officers of 
the government shall contain no provision on any other 
subject. 

Sec. 17. No money shall be drawn from the treasury 
except in pursuance of an appropriation made by law, and on 
the presentation of a warrant issued by the auditor thereon; 
and no money shall be diverted from any appropriation made 


198 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


for any purpose, or taken from any fund whatever, either by 
joint or separate resolution. The auditor shall, within sixty 
days after the adjournment of each session of the general 
assembly, prepare and publish a full statement of all money 
expended at such session, specifying the amount of each 
item, and to whom and for what paid. 

Sec. 18. Each general assembly shall provide for all the 
appropriations necessary for the ordinary and contingent 
expenses of the government until the expiration of the first 
fiscal quarter after the adjournment of the next regular 
session, the aggregate amount of which shall not be increased 
without a vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each 
house, nor exceed the amount of revenue authorized by law 
to be raised in such time; and all appropriations, general 
or special, requiring money to be paid out of the State treas¬ 
ury, from funds belonging to the State, shall end with such 
fiscal quarter: Provided , the State may, to meet casual 
deficits or failures in revenues, contract debts, never to exceed 
in the aggregate two hundred and fifty thousand dollars; 
and moneys thus borrowed shall be applied to the purpose for 
which they were obtained, or to pay the debt thus created, 
and to no other purpose, and no other debt except for the 
purpose of repelling invasion, suppressing insurrection, or 
defending the State in war (for payment of which the faith 
of the State shall be pledged), shall be contracted, unless the 
law authorizing the same shall, at a general election, have been 
submitted to the people and have received a majority of the 
votes cast for members of the general assembly at such elec¬ 
tion. The general assembly shall provide for the publication 
of said law for three months, at least, before the vote of the 
people shall be taken upon the same; and provision shall be 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


199 


made, at the time, for the payment of the interest annually, 
as it shall accrue, by a tax levied for the purpose, or from 
other sources of revenue; which law, providing for the pay¬ 
ment of such interest by such tax, shall be irrepealable until 
such debt be paid: And, provided further, that the law levying 
the tax shall be submitted to the people with the law authoriz¬ 
ing the debt to be contracted. 

Sec. 19. The general assembly shall never grant or au¬ 
thorize extra compensation, fee or allowance to any public 
officer, agent, servant or contractor, after service has been 
rendered or a contract made, nor authorize the payment of 
any claim, or part thereof, hereafter created against the State 
under any agreement or contract made without express au¬ 
thority of law; and all such unauthorized agreements or 
contracts shall be null and void: Provided, the general 
assembly may make appropriations for expenditures incurred 
in suppressing insurrection or repelling invasion. 

Sec. 20. The State shall never pay,' assume or become 
responsible for the debts or liabilities of, or in any manner 
give, loan or extend its credit to, or in aid of, any public or 
other corporation, association or individual. 

PAY OF MEMBERS. 

Sec. 21. The members of the general assembly shall re¬ 
ceive for their services the sum of five dollars per day, during 
the first session held under this constitution, and ten cents 
for each mile necessarily traveled in going to and returning 
from the seat of government, to be computed by the auditor 
of public accounts; and thereafter such compensation as 
shall be prescribed by law, and no other allowance or emolu- 


200 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


ment, directly or indirectly, for any purpose whatever, ex¬ 
cept the sum of fifty dollars per session to each member, which 
shall be in full for postage, stationery, newspapers and all 
other incidental expenses and perquisites; but no change 
shall be made in the compensation of the general assembly 
during the term for which they may have been elected. The 
pay and mileage allowed to each member of the general 
assembly shall be certified by the speakers of their respective 
houses, and entered on the journals, and published at the 
close of each session. 

SPECIAL LEGISLATION PROHIBITED. 

Sec. 22. The general assembly shall not pass local or 
special laws in any of the following enumerated cases, that is 
to say: for—- 

Granting divorces; 

Changing the names of persons or places, 

Laying out, opening, altering and working roads or high¬ 
ways; 

Vacating roads, town plats, streets, alleys, and public 
grounds; 

Locating or changing county seats; 

Regulating county and township affairs; 

Regulating the practice in courts of justice; 

Regulating the jurisdiction and duties of justices of the 
peace, police magistrates and constables; 

Providing for changes of venue in civil and criminal cases; 

Incorporating cities, towns or villages, or changing or 
amending the charter of any town, city or village; 

Providing for the election of members of the board of 
supervisors in townships, incorporated towns or cities; 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


201 


Summoning and impaneling grand or petit juries; 

Providing for the management of common schools; 

Regulating the rate of interest on money; 

The opening and conducting of any election, or designating 
the place of voting; 

The sale or mortgage of real estate belonging to minors or 
others under disability; 

The protection of game or fish; 

Chartering or licensing ferries or toll bridges; 

Remitting fines, penalties, or forfeitures; 

Creating, increasing, or decreasing fees, percentage or 
allowances of public officers, during the term for which said 
officers are elected or appointed; 

Changing the law of descent; 

Granting to any corporation, association, or individual, the 
right to lay down railroad tracks, or amending existing charters 
for such purposes; 

Granting to any corporation, association or individual any 
special or exclusive privilege, immunity or franchise whatever; 

In all other cases where a general law can be made appli¬ 
cable, no special law shall be enacted. 

Sec. 23. The general assembly shall have no power to 
release or extinguish, in whole or in part, the indebtedness, 
liability or obligation of any corporation or individual to this 
State or to any municipal corporation therein. 

IMPEACHMENT. 

Sec. 24. The house of representatives shall have the sole 
power of impeachment; but a majority of all the members 
elected must concur therein. All impeachments shall be 
tried by the senate; and when sitting for that purpose, the 


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senators shall be upon oath or affirmation to do justice ac¬ 
cording to law and evidence. When the governor of the State 
is tried, the chief justice shall preside. No person shall be 
convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the 
senators elected. But judgment, in such cases, shall not 
extend further than removal from office, and disqualification 
to hold any office of honor, profit or trust under the govern¬ 
ment of this State. The party, whether convicted or ac¬ 
quitted, shall, nevertheless, be liable to prosecution, trial, 
judgment and punishment according to law. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Sec. 25. The general assembly shall provide, by law, that 
the fuel, stationery and printing paper furnished for the use 
of the State; the copying, printing, binding and distributing 
the laws and journals, and all other printing ordered by the 
general assembly, shall be let by contract to the lowest re¬ 
sponsible bidder; but the general assembly shall fix a maxi¬ 
mum price; and no member thereof, or other officer of the 
State, shall be interested, directly or indirectly, in such 
contract. But all such contracts shall be subject to the 
approval of the governor, and if he disapproves the same, there 
shall be a re-letting of the contract, in such manner as shall 
be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 26. The State of Illinois shall never be made defend¬ 
ant in any court of law or equity. 

Sec. 27. The general assembly shall have no power to 
authorize lotteries or gift enterprises, for any purpose, and 
shall pass laws to prohibit the sale of lottery or gift enterprise 
tickets in this State. 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 206 

Sec. 28. No law shall be passed which shall operate to 
extend the term of any public officer after his election or 
appointment. 

Sec. 29. It shall be the duty of the general assembly to 
pass such laws as may be necessary for the protection of 
operative miners, by providing for ventilation, when the 
same may be required, and the construction of escapement 
shafts, or such other appliances as may secure safety in 
all coal mines, and to provide for the enforcement of said 
laws by such penalties and punishments as may be deemed 
proper. 

Sec. 30. The general assembly may provide for establish¬ 
ing and opening roads and cartways, connected with a public 
road, for private and public use. 

Sec. 31. * The general assembly may pass laws permitting 
the owners of land to construct drains, ditches and levees for 
agricultural, sanitary or mining purposes, across the lands of 
others, and provide for the organization of drainage districts, 
and vest the corporate authorities thereof with power to 
construct and maintain levees, drains and ditches and to 
keep in repair all drains, ditches and levees heretofore con¬ 
structed under the laws of this State, by special assessments 
upon the property benefited thereby. 

Sec. 32. The general assembly shall pass liberal home¬ 
stead and exemption laws. 

Sec. 33. The general assembly shall not appropriate out 
of the State treasury, or expend on account of the new capitol 

* As modified by the first amendment to the Constitution of 1870. 
The joint resolution was adopted by the Senate March 15, 1877, and the 
House March 20, 1877. It was adopted by the vote of the People 
November 5, 1878, and proclaimed ratified November 29, 1878, 


204 


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grounds, and construction, completion and furnishing of the 
State house, a sum exceeding in the aggregate three and a 
half millions of dollars, inclusive of all appropriations hereto¬ 
fore made, without first submitting the proposition for an 
additional expenditure to the legal voters of the State at a 
general election; nor unless a majority of all the votes cast 
at such election shall be for the proposed additional expendi¬ 
ture. 


ARTICLE V. 

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 

Section 1. The executive department shall consist of a 
governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary of state, auditor of 
public accounts, treasurer, superintendent of public instruc¬ 
tion and attorney-general, who shall each, with the exception 
of the treasurer, hold his office for the term of four years from 
the second Monday of January next after his election and until 
his successor is elected and qualified. They shall, except the 
lieutenant governor, reside at the seat of government during 
their term of office, and keep the public records, books and 
papers there, and shall perform such duties as may be 
prescribed by law. 

Sec. 2. The treasurer shall hold his office for the term of 
two years, and until his successor is elected and qualified, 
and shall be ineligible to said office for two years next after 
the end of the term for which he was elected. He may be 
required by the governor to give reasonable additional 
security, and in default of so doing his office shall be deemed 
vacant. 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


205 


ELECTION. 

Sec. 3. An election for governor, lieutenant-governor, 
secretary of state, auditor of public accounts and attorney 
general shall be held on the Tuesday next after the first 
Monday of November, in the year of our Lord one thousand 
eight hundred and seventy-two, and every four years there¬ 
after; for superintendent of public instruction, on the Tues¬ 
day next after the first Monday of November in the year 
one thousand eight hundred and seventy, and every four 
years thereafter; and for treasurer on the day last above 
mentioned, and every two years thereafter, at such places 
and in such manner as may be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 4. The returns of every election for the above named 
officers shall be sealed up and transmitted by the returning 
officers to the secretary of state directed to the “Speaker of 
the house of representatives,” who shall immediately after 
the organization of the house, and before proceeding to other 
business, open and publish the same in the presence of a 
majority of each house of the general assembly, who shall, for 
that purpose, assemble in the hall of the house of representa¬ 
tives. The person having the highest number of votes for 
either of said offices shall be declared duly elected; but if 
two or more have an equal, and the highest number of votes, 
the general assembly shall, by joint ballot, choose one of such 
persons for said office. Contested elections for all said offices 
shall be determined by both houses of the general assembly, 
by joint ballot, in such manner as may be prescribed by 
law. 


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ELIGIBILITY. 

Sec. 5. No person shall be eligible to the office of governor 
or lieutenant-governor who shall not have attained the age of 
thirty years, and been, for five years next preceding his elec¬ 
tion, a citizen of the United States and of this State. Neither 
the governor, lieutenant governor, auditor of public accounts, 
secretary of state, superintendent of public instruction, nor 
attorney-general shall be eligible to any other office during the 
period for which he shall have been elected. 

GOVERNOR. 

Sec. 6. The supreme executive power shall be vested in the 
governor, who shall take care that the laws be faithfully 
executed. 

Sec. 7. The governor shall, at the commencement of each 
session, and at the close of his term of office, give to the general 
assembly information, by message, of the condition ol the 
State, and shall recommend such measures as he shall deem 
expedient. He shall account to the general assembly, and 
accompany his message with a statement of all moneys re¬ 
ceived and paid out by him from any funds subject to his 
order with vouchers, and at the commencement of each regular 
session, present estimates of the amount of money required 
to be raised by taxation for all purposes. 

Sec. 8. The governor may, on extraordinary occasions, 
convene the general assembly, by proclamation, stating 
therein the purpose for which they are convened, and the 
general assembly shall enter upon no business except that for 
which they were called together. 

Sec. 9. In case of a disagreement between the two houses 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


207 


with respect to the time of adjournment, the governor may, 
on the same being certified to him by the house first moving 
the adjournment, adjourn the general assembly to such time 
as he thinks proper, not beyond the first day of the next 
regular session. 

Sec. 10. The governor shall nominate, and by and with 
the advice and consent of the senate (a majority of all the 
senators elected concurring by yeas and nays), appoint all 
officers whose offices are established by this constitution, or 
which may be created by law, and whose appointment or 
election is not otherwise provided for; and no such officer shall 
be appointed or elected by the general assembly. 

Sec. 11. In case of a vacancy, during the recess of the 
senate, in any office which is not elective, the governor shall 
make a temporary appointment until the next meeting of the 
senate, when he shall nominate some person to fill such office; 
and any person so nominated who is confirmed by the senate 
(a majority of all the senators elected concurring by yeas and 
nays), shall hold his office during the remainder of the term, 
and until his successor shall be appointed and qualified. 
No person, after being rejected by the senate, shall be again 
nominated for the same office at the same session, unless at 
the request of the senate, or be appointed to the same office 
during the recess of the general assembly. 

Sec. 12. The governor shall have power to remove any 
officer whom he may appoint, in case of incompetency, 
neglect of duty or malfeasance in office; and he may declare 
his office vacant and fill the same as is herein provided in 
other cases of vacancy. 

Sec. 13. The governor shall have power to grant reprieves, 
commutations and pardons, after conviction, for all offenses, 


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subject to such regulations as may be provided by law relative 
to the manner of applying therefor. 

Sec. 14. The governor shall be commander-in-chief of the 
military and naval forces of the State (except when they 
shall be called into the service of the United States), and may 
call out the same to execute the laws, suppress insurrection 
and repel invasion. 

Sec. 15. The governor and all civil officers of the State 
shall be liable to impeachment for any misdemeanor in office. 

veto * 

Sec. 16. Every bill passed by the general assembly shall, 
before it becomes a law, be presented to the governor. If he 
approve, he shall sign it, and thereupon it shall become a 
law; but if he do not approve, he shall return it, with his 
objections, to the house in which it shall have originated, 
which house shall enter the objections at large upon its journal 
and proceed to reconsider the bill. If then two thirds of the 
members elected agree to pass the same, it shall be sent, to¬ 
gether with the objections, to the other house, by which it 
shall likewise be reconsidered; and if approved by two- 
thirds of the members elected to that house, it shall become 
a law, notwithstanding the objections of the governor; but in 
all such cases the vote of each house shall be determined by 
yeas and nays, to be entered upon the journal. Bills making 
appropriations of money out of the treasury shall specify 

*As modified by the third amendment to the constitution of 1870. 
The amendment was proposed by the joint resolution of the Thirty- 
third General Assembly, ratified by the vote of the people November 4, 
1884, and proclaimed adopted November 28, 1884. 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


209 


the objects and purposes for which the same are made, and 
appropriate to them respectively their several amounts on 
distinct items and sections. And if the governor shall not 
approve any one or more of the items or sections contained 
in any bill, but shall approve the residue thereof, it shall be¬ 
come a law, as to the residue, in like manner as if he had 
signed it. The governor shall then return the bill, with his 
objections to the items or sections of the same not approved 
by him, to the house in which the bill shall have originated, 
which house shall enter the objections at large upon its journal, 
and proceed to reconsider so much of said bill as is not ap¬ 
proved by the governor. The same proceedings shall be had 
in both houses in reconsidering the same as is hereinbefore 
provided in case of an entire bill returned by the governor 
with his objections; and if any item or section of said bill 
not approved by the governor shall be passed by two-thirds of 
the members elected to each of the two houses of the general 
assembly, it shall become part of said law, notwithstanding 
the objections of the governor. Any bill which shall not be 
returned by the governor within ten days (Sundays excepted) 
after it shall have been presented to him, shall become a law 
in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the general assembly 
shall by their adjournment prevent its return, in which case 
it shall be filed with his objections in the office of the secretary 
of state, within ten days after such adjournment, or become 
a law. 

LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR. 

Sec. 17. In case of the death, conviction on impeachment, 
failure to qualify, resignation, absence from the State, or 
other disability of the governor, the powers, duties and emolu- 


210 


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ments of the office for the residue of the term, or until the dis¬ 
ability shall be removed, shall devolve upon the lieutenant 
governor. 

Sec. 18. The lieutenant governor shall be president of the 
senate, and shall vote only when the senate is equally divided. 
The senate shall choose a president, pro tempore , to preside in 
case of the absence or impeachment of the lieutenant governor, 
or when he shall hold the office of governor. 

Sec. 19. If there be no lieutenant governor, or if the 
lieutenant governor shall, for any of the causes specified in 
section seventeen of this article, become incapable of perform¬ 
ing the duties of the office, the president of the senate shall act 
as governor until the vacancy is filled or the disability re¬ 
moved; and if the president of the senate, for any of the 
above-named causes, shall become incapable of performing 
the duties of governor, the same shall devolve upon the 
speaker of the house of representatives. 

OTHER STATE OFFICERS. 

Sec. 20. If the office of auditor of public accounts, treas¬ 
urer, secretary of state, attorney-general, or superintendent 
of public instruction shall be vacated by death, resignation or 
otherwise; it shall be the duty of the governor to fill the same 
by appointment, and the appointee shall hold his office until 
his successor shall be elected and qualified in such manner as 
may be provided by law. An account shall be kept by the 
officers of the executive department, and of all the public 
institutions of the State, of all moneys received or disbursed 
by them, severally, from all sources, and for every service 
performed, and a semi-annual report thereof be made to the 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


211 


governor, under oath; and any officer who makes a false 
report shall be guilty of perjury, and punished accordingly. 

Sec. 21. The officers of the executive department, and of 
all the public institutions of the State, shall, at least ten days 
preceding each regular session of the general assembly, 
severally report to the governor, who shall transmit such re¬ 
ports to the general assembly, together with the reports of the 
judges of the supreme court of defects in the constitution and 
laws; and the governor may at any time require information, 
in writing under oath, from the officers of the executive de¬ 
partment, and all officers and managers of State institutions, 
upon any subject relating to the condition, management and 
expenses of their respective offices. 

THE SEAL OF STATE. 

Sec. 22. There shall be a seal of the State, which shall be 
called the “ Great Seal of the State of Illinois,” which shall be 
kept by the secretary of state, and used by him, officially, as 
directed by law. 

FEES AND SALARIES. 

Sec. 23. The officers named in this article shall receive 
for their services a salary, to be established by law, which shall 
not be increased or diminished during their official terms, and 
they shall not, after the expiration of the terms of those in 
office at the adoption of this constitution, receive to their 
own use any fees, costs, perquisites of office, or other compensa¬ 
tion. And all fees that may hereafter be payable by law for 
any services performed by any officer provided for in this 
article of the constitution, shall be paid in advance into 
the State treasury. 


212 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


DEFINITION AND OATH OF OFFICE. 

Sec. 24. An office is a public position created by the 
constitution or law, continuing during the pleasure of the 
appointing power, or for a fixed time, with a successor elected 
or appointed. An employment is an agency, for a temporary 
purpose, which ceases when that purpose is accomplished. 

Sec. 25. All civil officers, except members of the general 
assembly and such inferior officers as may be by law exempted, 
shall, before they enter on the duties of their respective 
offices, take and subscribe the following oath or affirmation: 

“I do solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case may be) that I will support 
the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the State 
of Illinois, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office 
of — according to the best of my ability.” 

And no other oath, declaration or test shall be required as a 
qualification. 

ARTICLE VI. 

JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. 

Section 1. The judicial powers, except as in this article 
is otherwise provided, shall be vested in one supreme court, 
circuit courts, county courts, justices of the peace, police 
magistrates, and in such courts as may be created by law in 
and for cities and incorporated towns. 

SUPREME COURT. 

Sec. 2. The supreme court shall consist of seven judges, 
and shall have original jurisdiction in cases relating to the 
revenue, in mandamus and habeas corpus , and appellate juris- 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


213 


diction in all other cases. One of said judges shall be chief 
justice; four shall constitute a quorum, and the concurrence 
of four shall be necessary to every decision. 

Sec. 3. No person shall be eligible to the office of judge of 
the supreme court unless he shall be at least thirty years of 
age, and a citizen of the United States, nor unless he shall 
have resided in this State five years next preceding his elec¬ 
tion, and be a resident of the district in which he shall be 
elected. 

Sec. 4. Terms of the supreme court shall continue to be 
held in the present grand divisions at the several places now 
provided for holding the same; and until otherwise provided 
by law, one or more terms of said court shall be held, for the 
northern division, in the City of Chicago, each year, at such 
times as said court may appoint, whenever said city or the 
County of Cook shall provide appropriate rooms therefor, 
and the use of a suitable library, without expense to the State. 
The judicial divisions may be altered, increased or dimin¬ 
ished in number, and the times and places of holding said 
court may be changed by law. 

Sec. 5. The present grand divisions shall be preserved, 
and be denominated Southern, Central and Northern, until 
otherwise provided by law. The State shall be divided into 
seven districts for the election of judges, and, until otherwise 
provided by law, they shall be as follows: 

First District. — The counties of St. Clair, Clinton, Washing¬ 
ton, Jefferson, Wayne, Edwards, Wabash, White, Hamilton, 
Franklin, Perry, Randolph, Munroe, Jackson, Williamson, 
Saline, Gallatin, Hardin, Pope, Union, Johnson, Alexander, 
Pulaski and Massac. 

Second District. — The counties of Madison, Bond, Marion, 


214 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


Clay, Richland, Lawrence, Crawford, Jasper, Effingham, 
Fayette, Montgomery, Macoupin, Shelby, Cumberland, 
Clark, Greene, Jersey, Calhoun and Christian. 

Third District. —The counties of Sangamon, Macon, 
Logan, De Witt, Piatt, Douglas, Champaign, Vermilion, 
McLean, Livingstone, Ford, Iroquois, Coles, Edgar, Moul¬ 
trie and Tazewell. 

Fourth District. — The counties of Fulton, McDonough, 
Hancock, Schuyler, Brown, Adams, Pike, Mason, Menard, 
•Morgan, Cass and Scott. 

Fifth District. — The counties of Knox, Warren, Henderson, 
Mercer, Henry, Stark, Peoria, Marshall, Putnam, Bureau, 
La Salle, Grundy and Woodford. 

Sixth District. — The counties of Whiteside, Carroll, Jo 
Daviess, Stephenson, Winnebago, Boone, McHenry, Kane, 
Kendall, De Kalb, Lee, Ogle and Rock Island. 

Seventh District. — The counties of Lake, Cook, Will, 
Kankakee and DuPage. 

The boundaries of the districts may be changed at the 
session of the general assembly next preceding the election for 
judges therein, and at no other time; but whenever such 
alterations shall be made the same shall be upon the rule of 
equality of population, as nearly as county boundaries will 
allow, and the districts shall be composed of contiguous 
counties, in as nearly compact form as circumstances will 
permit. The alteration of the districts shall not affect the 
tenure of office of any judge. 

Sec. 6 . At the time of voting on the adoption of this 
constitution, one judge of the supreme court shall be elected 
by the electors thereof, in each of said districts numbered two, 
three, six and seven, who shall hold his office for the term of 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENATRY SCHOOLS 


215 


nine years from the first Monday of June, in the year of our 
Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy. The term of 
office of judges of the supreme court, elected after the adoption 
of this constitution, shall be nine years; and on the first 
Monday of June of the year in which the term of any of the 
judges in office at the adoption of this constitution, or of 
the judges then elected, shall expire, and every nine years 
thereafter, there shall be an election for the successor or suc¬ 
cessors of such judges in the respective districts wherein the 
term of such judges shall expire The chief justice shall con¬ 
tinue to act as such until the expiration of the term for which 
he was elected, after which the judges shall choose one of 
their number chief justice. 

Sec. 7. From and after the adoption of the constitution, 
the judges of the supreme court shall each receive a salary of 
four thousand dollars per annum, payable quarterly, until 
otherwise provided by law. And after said salaries shall be 
fixed by law, the salaries of the judges in office shall not be 
increased or diminished during the terms for which said 
judges shall have been elected. 

Sec. 8. Appeals and writs of error may be taken to the 
supreme court held in the grand division in which the case is 
decided, or, by consent of the parties, to any other grand 
division. 

Sec. 9. The supreme court shall appoint one reporter of 
its decisions, who shall hold his office for six years, subject 
to removal by the court. 

Sec. 10. At the time of the election of representatives 
in the general assembly, happening next preceding the expira¬ 
tion of the terms of office of the present clerks of said court, 
one clerk of said court for each division shall be elected, whose 


216 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


term of office shall be six years from said election, but who 
shall not enter upon the duties of his office until the expiration 
of the term of his predecessor, and every six years thereafter 
one clerk of said court for each division shall be elected. 

APPELLATE COURTS. 

Sec. 11. After the year of our Lord one thousand eight 
hundred and seventy-four, inferior appellate courts, of uni¬ 
form organization and jurisdiction, may be created in dis¬ 
tricts formed for that purpose, to which such appeals and 
writs of error as the general assembly may provide, may be 
prosecuted from circuit and other courts, and from which 
appeals and writs of error shall lie to the supreme court, in all 
criminal cases, and cases in which a franchise, or freehold, or 
the validity of a statute is involved, and in such other cases 
as may be provided by law. Such appellate courts shall be 
held by such number of judges of the circuit courts, and at 
such times and places, and in such manner as may be provided 
by law; but no judge shall sit in review upon cases decided 
by him; nor shall said judges receive any additional com¬ 
pensation for such services. 

CIRCUIT COURTS. 

Sec. 12. The circuit courts shall have original jurisdiction 
of all causes in law and equity, and such appellate jurisdiction 
as is or may be provided by law, and shall hold two or more 
terms each year in every county. The terms of office of 
judges of circuit courts shall be six years. 

Sec. 13. The State, exclusive of the County of Cook and 
other counties having a population of one hundred thousand, 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


217 


shall be divided into judicial circuits, prior to the expiration 
of the terms of office of the present judges of the circuit 
courts. Such circuits shall be formed of contiguous counties, 
in as nearly compact form and as nearly equal as circum¬ 
stances will permit, having due regard to business, territory 
and population, and shall not exceed in number one circuit 
for every one hundred thousand of population of the State. 
One judge shall be elected for each of said circuits by the 
electors thereof. New circuits may be formed and the 
boundaries of circuits changed by the general assembly, at 
its session next preceding the election for circuit judges, 
but at no other time: Provided that the circuits may be 
equalized or changed at the first session of the general assembly 
after the adoption of this constitution. The creation, altera¬ 
tion or change of any circuit shall not affect the tenure of 
office of any judge. Whenever the business of the circuit 
court of any one, or of two or more contiguous counties, 
containing a population exceeding fifty thousand, shall occupy 
nine months of the year, the general assembly may make of 
such county, or counties, a separate circuit. Whenever 
additional circuits are created, the foregoing limitations shall 
be observed. 

Sec. 14. The general assembly shall provide for the times 
of holding court in each county; which shall not be changed, 
except by the general assembly next preceding the general 
election for judges of said courts; but additional terms may 
be provided for in any county. The election for judges of the 
circuit courts shall be held on the first Monday in June, in 
the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy- 
three, and every six years thereafter. 

Sec. 15. The general assembly may divide the State into 


218 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


judicial circuits of greater population and territory, in lieu 
of the circuits provided for in section thirteen of this article, 
and provide for the election therein, severally, by the electors 
thereof, by general ticket, of not exceeding four judges, who 
shall hold the circuit courts in the circuit for which they shall 
be elected, in such manner as may be provided by law: 

Sec. 16. From and after the adoption of this constitution, 
judges of the circuit courts shall receive a salary of three 
thousand dollars per annum, payable quarterly, until other¬ 
wise provided by law, and after their salaries shall be fixed 
by law they shall not be increased or diminished during the 
terms for which said judges shall be, respectively, elected; 
and from and after the adoption of this constitution, no judge 
of the supreme or circuit court shall receive any other com¬ 
pensation, perquisite or benefit, in any form whatsoever, 
nor perform any other than judicial duties to which may belong 
any emoluments. 

Sec. 17. No person shall be eligible to the office of judge 
of the circuit or any inferior court, or to membership in the 
“board of county commissioners,” unless he shall be at least 
twenty-five years of age and a citizen of the United States, 
nor unless he shall have resided in this State five years next 
preceding his election, and be a resident of the circuit, county, 
city, cities, or incorporated town in which he shall be elected. 

COUNTY COURTS. 

Sec. 18. There shall be elected in and for each county one 
county judge and one clerk of the county court, whose terms 
of office shall be four years. But the general assembly may 
create districts of two or more contiguous counties, in each 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


219 


of which shall be elected one judge, who shall take the place 
of and exercise the powers and jurisdiction of county judges 
in such districts. County courts shall be courts of record, 
and shall have original jurisdiction in all matters of probate, 
settlement of estates of deceased persons, appointment of 
guardians and conservators and settlements of their accounts, 
in all matters relating to apprentices, and in proceedings 
for the collection of taxes and assessments, and such other 
jurisdiction as may be provided for by general law. 

Sec. 19. Appeals and writs of error shall be allowed from 
final determinations of county courts, as may be provided 
by law. 

PROBATE COURTS. 

Sec. 20. The general assembly may provide for the es¬ 
tablishment of a probate court in each county having a popu¬ 
lation of over fifty thousand, and for the election of a judge 
thereof, whose term of office shall be the same as that of the 
county judge, and who shall be elected at the same time and 
in the same manner. Said courts, when established, shall 
have original jurisdiction of all probate matters, the settle¬ 
ment of estates of deceased persons, the appointment of 
guardians and conservators, and settlements of their accounts; 
in all matters relating to apprentices, and in cases of sales 
of real estate of deceased persons for the payment of debts. 

JUSTICES OF THE PEACE AND CONSTABLES. 

Sec. 21. Justices of the peace, police magistrates and con¬ 
stables shall be elected in and for such districts as are, or may 
be, provided by law, and the jurisdiction of such justices of 
the peace and police magistrates shall be uniform. 


220 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


state’s ATTORNEY. 

j Sec. 22. At the election for members of the general assem¬ 
bly in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and 
seventy-two, and every four years thereafter, there shall be 
elected a State’s attorney in and for each county, in lieu of 
the State’s attorneys not provided by law, whose terms of 
office shall be four years. 

COURTS OF COOK COUNTY. 

Sec. 23. The County of Cook shall be one judicial circuit. 
The circuit court of Cook County shall consist of five judges 
until their number shall be increased as herein provided. 
The present judge of the recorder’s court of the City of Chi¬ 
cago, and the present judge of the circuit court of Cook 
County, shall be two of said judges, and shall remain in office 
for the terms for which they were respectively elected, and 
until their successors shall be elected and qualified. The 
superior court of Chicago shall be continued and called the 
“ Superior Court of Cook County.” The general assembly 
may increase the number of said judges, by adding one to 
either of said courts for every additional fifty thousand in¬ 
habitants in said county over and above a population of four 
hundred thousand. The terms of office of the judges of said 
courts, hereafter elected, shall be six years. 

Sec. 24. The judge having the shortest unexpired term 
shall be chief justice of the court of which he is a judge. In 
case there are two or more whose terms expire at the same 
time, it may be determined by lot which shall be chief justice. 
Any judge of either of said courts shall have all the powers 
of a circuit judge, and may hold the court of which he is a 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


221 


member. Each of them may hold a different branch thereof 
at the same time. 

Sec. 25. The judges of the superior and circuit courts, and 
the State’s attorney, in said county, shall receive the same 
salaries, payable out of the State treasury, as is or may be 
paid from said treasury to the circuit judges and State’s 
attorneys of the State, and such further compensation, to 
be paid by the County of Cook, as is or may be provided by 
law. Such compensation shall not be changed during their 
continuance in office. 

Sec. 26. The recorder’s court of the city of Chicago shall 
be continued, and shall be called the “Criminal Court of 
Cook County.” It shall have the jurisdiction of a circuit 
court in all cases of criminal and quasi criminal nature, 
arising in the County of Cook, or that may be brought before 
said court pursuant to law; and all recognizances and 
appeals taken in said county, in criminal and quasi criminal 
cases, shall be returnable and taken to said court. It shall 
have no jurisdiction in civil cases, except in those on behalf 
of the people, and incident to such criminal or quasi criminal 
matters, and to dispose of unfinished business. The terms 
of said criminal court of Cook County shall be held by one or 
more of the judges of the circuit or superior court of Cook 
County, as nearly as may be in alteration, as may be deter¬ 
mined by said judges, or provided by law. Said judges shall 
be ex officio judges of said court. 

Sec. 27. The present clerk of the recorder’s court of the 
city of Chicago shall be the clerk of the criminal court of 
Cook County during the term for which he was elected. 
The present clerks of the superior court of Chicago, and the 
present clerk of the circuit court of Cook County, shall continue 


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in office during the terms for which they were respectively 
elected; and thereafter there shall be but one clerk of the 
superior court, to be elected by the qualified electors of said 
county, who shall hold his office for the term of four years, 
and until his successor is elected and qualified. 

Sec. 28. All justices of the peace in the city of Chicago shall 
be appointed by the governor, by and with the advice and 
consent of the senate (but only upon the recommendation of 
a majority of the judges of the circuit, superior and county 
courts), and for such districts as are now or shall hereafter 
be provided by law. They shall hold their offices for four 
years, and until their successors have been commissioned and 
qualified, but they may be removed by summary proceeding 
in the circuit or superior court, for extortion or other mal¬ 
feasance. Existing justices of the peace and police magis¬ 
trates may hold their offices until the expiration of their 
respective terms. 


GENERAL PROVISIONS. 

Sec. 29.- All judicial officers shall be commissioned by the 
governor. All laws relating to courts shall be general and of 
uniform operation; and the organization, jurisdiction, powers, 
proceedings and practice of all courts of the same class or 
grade, so far as regulated by law, and the force and effect of the 
process, judgments and decrees of such courts, severally, 
shall be uniform. 

Sec. 30. The general assembly may, for cause entered on 
the journals, upon due notice and opportunity of defense, 
remove from office any judge, upon concurrence of three- 
fourths of all the members elected, of each house. All other 
•officers in this article mentioned shall be removed from 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


223 


office on prosecution and final conviction for misdemeanor in 
office. 

Sec. 31. All judges of courts of record, inferior to the 
supreme court, shall, on or before the first day of June of each 
year, report in writing to the judges of the supreme court such 
defects and omissions in the laws as their experience may 
suggest; and the judges of the supreme court shall, on or 
before the first day of January of each year, report in writing 
to the governor such defects and omissions in the constitu¬ 
tion and laws as they may find to exist, together with appro¬ 
priate forms of bills to cure such defects and omissions in the 
laws. And the judges of the several circuit courts shall 
report to the next general assembly the number of days they 
have held court in the several counties composing their re¬ 
spective circuits, the preceding two years. 

Sec. 32. All officers provided for in this article shall hold 
their offices until their successors shall be qualified, and they 
shall, respectively, reside in the division, circuit, county or 
district for which they may be elected or appointed. The 
terms of office of all such officers, where not otherwise pre¬ 
scribed in this article, shall be four years. All officers, where 
not otherwise provided for in this article, shall perform such 
duties and receive such compensation as is or may be pro¬ 
vided by law. Vacancies in such elective offices shall be filled 
by election; but where the unexpired term does not exceed 
one year the vacancy shall be filled by appointment, as fol¬ 
lows: Of judges, by the governor; of clerks of courts, by the 
court to which the office appertains, or by the judge or judges 
thereof; and of all such other offices, by the board of super¬ 
visors, or board of county commissioners, in the county where 
the vacancy occurs. 


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Sec. 33. All process shall run: In the name of the People 
of the State of Illinois; and all prosecutions shall be carried 
on: In the name and by the authority of the People of the State 
of Illinois; and conclude: Against the peace and dignity of 
the same. “Population,” wherever used in this article, 
shall be determined by the next preceding census of this 
State, or of the United States. 

ARTICLE VII. 

SUFFRAGE. 

Section 1. Every person having resided in this State one 
year, in the county ninety days and in the election district 
thirty days next preceding any election therein, who was an 
elector in this State on the first day of April, in the year of our 
Lord, one thousand eight hundred and forty-eight, or obtained 
a certificate of naturalization, before any court of record in 
this State, prior to the first day of January, in the year of our 
Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy, or who shall 
be a male citizen of the United States, above the age of twenty- 
one years, shall be entitled to vote at such election. 

Sec. 2. All votes shall be by ballot. 

Sec. 3. Electors shall, in all cases except treason, felony 
or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their 
attendance at elections and in going to and returning from the 
same. And no elector shall be required to do military duty 
on the days of election except in time of war or public danger. 

Sec. 4. No elector shall be deemed to have lost his resi¬ 
dence in this State by reason of his absence on business of 
the United States or of this State, or in the military or naval 
service of the United States. 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


225 


Sec. 5. No soldier, seaman or marine in the army or navy 
of the United States shall be deemed a resident of this State 
in consequence of being stationed therein. 

Sec. 6. No person shall be elected or appointed to any 
office in this State, civil or military, who is not a citizen of the 
United States, and who shall not have resided in this State one 
year next preceding the election or appointment. 

Sec. 7. The general assembly shall pass laws excluding 
from the right of suffrage persons convicted of infamous 
crimes. 

ARTICLE VIII. 

EDUCATION. 

Section 1. The general assembly shall provide a thorough 
and efficient system of free schools whereby all children of 
this State may receive a good common school education. 

Sec. 2. All lands, moneys or other property, donated, 
granted or received for school, college, seminary or university 
purposes, and the proceeds thereof, shall be faithfully applied 
to the objects for which such gifts or grants were made. 

Sec. 3. Neither the general assembly nor any county, 
city, town, township, school district or other public corpora¬ 
tion shall ever make any appropriation or pay from any public 
fund whatever, anything in aid of any church or sectarian 
purpose, or to help support or sustain any school, academy, 
seminary, college, university or other literary or scientific 
institution, controlled by any church or sectarian denomina¬ 
tion whatever; nor shall any grant or donation of land, 
money or other personal property ever be made by the State 
or any such public corporation to any church or for any 
sectarian purpose. 


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Sec. 4. No teacher, State, county, township or district 
school officer shall be interested in the sale, proceeds or profits 
of any book, apparatus or furniture, used or to be used in any 
school in this State, with which such officer or teacher may 
be connected, under such penalties as may be provided by 
the general assembly. 

Sec. 5. There may be a county superintendent of schools 
in each county, whose qualification, powers, duties, compen¬ 
sation and time and manner of election and term of office 
shall be prescribed by law. 

ARTICLE IX. 

REVENUE. 

Section 1. The general assembly shall provide such 
revenue as may be needful by levying a tax, by valuation, so 
that every person and corporation shall pay a tax in propor¬ 
tion to the value of his, her or its property —- such value to 
be ascertained by some person or persons to be elected or 
appointed in such manner as the general assembly shall direct, 
and not otherwise; but the general assembly shall have power 
to tax peddlers, auctioneers, brokers, hawkers, merchants, 
commission merchants, showmen, jugglers, inn-keepers, gro¬ 
cery-keepers, liquor-dealers, toll-bridges, ferries, insurance, 
telephone and express interests or business, venders of patents 
and persons or corporations owning or using franchises and 
privileges, in such manner as it shall from time to time direct 
by general law, uniform as to the class upon which it operates. 

Sec. 2. The specification of the objects and subjects of 
taxation shall not deprive the general assembly of the power 
to require other subjects or objects to be taxed, in such man- 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


227 


ner as may be consistent with the principal of taxation fixed 
in his constitution. 

Sec. 3. The property of the State, counties, and other 
municipal corporations, both real and personal, and such 
other property as may be used exclusively for agricultural 
and horticultural societies, for school, religious, cemetery and 
charitable purposes, may be exempted from taxation; but 
such exemption shall be only by general law. In the assess¬ 
ment of real estate, incumbered by public easement, any 
depreciation occasioned by such easement may be deducted 
in the valuation of such property. 

Sec. 4. The general assembly shall provide, in all cases 
where it may be necessary to sell real estate for the non-pay¬ 
ment of taxes or special assessments, for State, county, mu¬ 
nicipal, or other purposes, that a return of such unpaid taxes 
or assessments shall be made to some general officer of the 
county having authority to receive State and county taxes; 
and there shall be no sale of said property for any of said taxes 
or assessments but by said officer, upon the order or judg¬ 
ment of some court of record. 

Sec. 5. The right of redemption from all sales of real estate 
for the non-payment of taxes or special assessments of any 
character whatever, shall exist in favor of owners and persons 
interested in such real estate for a period of not less than two 
years from such sales thereof. And the general assembly 
shall provide, by law, for reasonable notice to be given to 
the owners or parties interested, by publication or otherwise, 
of the fact of the sale of the property for such taxes or assess¬ 
ments, and when the time of redemption shall expire: Pro¬ 
vided ,, that occupants shall in all cases be served with personal 
notice before the time of redemption expires. 


228 


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Sec. 6. The general assembly shall have no power to re¬ 
lease or discharge any county, city, township, town or district 
whatever, or the inhabitants thereof, or the property therein, 
from their or its proportionate share of taxes to be levied for 
State purposes, nor shall commutation for such taxes be 
authorized in any form whatsoever. 

Sec. 7. All taxes levied for State purposes shall be paid 
into the State treasury. 

Sec. 8. County authorities shall never assess taxes the 
aggregate of which shall exceed seventy-five cents per one hun¬ 
dred dollars valuation, except for the payment of indebtedness 
existing at the adoption of this constitution, unless authorized 
by a vote of the people of the county. 

Sec. 9. The general assembly may vest the corporate 
authorities of cities, towns and villages with power to make 
local improvements by special assessment or by special tax¬ 
ation of contiguous property, or otherwise. For all other 
corporate purposes, all municipal corporations may be vested 
with authority to assess and collect taxes; but such taxes 
shall be uniform in respect to persons and property within 
the jurisdiction of the body imposing the same. 

Sec. 10. The general assembly shall not impose taxes 
upon municipal corporations, or the inhabitants or property 
thereof, for corporate purposes, but shall require that all the 
taxable property within the limits of municipal corporations 
shall be taxed for the payment of debts contracted under 
authority of law, such taxes to be uniform in respect to persons 
and property within the jurisdiction of the body imposing 
the same. Private property shall not be liable to be taken 
or sold for the payment of the corporate debts of a municipal 
corporation. 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


229 


Sec. 11. No person who is in default, as collector or cus¬ 
todian of money or property belonging to a municipal corpor¬ 
ation, shall be eligible to any office in or under such corpora¬ 
tion. The fees, salary or compensation of no municipal officer 
who is elected or appointed for a definite term of office shall 
be increased or diminished during such term. 

Sec. 12. No county, city, township, school district, or 
other municipal corporation shall be allowed to become in¬ 
debted in any manner or for any purpose to an amount, 
including existing indebtedness in the aggregate exceeding 
five per centum on the value of the taxable property therein, 
to be ascertained by the last assessment for State and county 
taxes previous to the incurring of such indebtedness. Any 
county, city, school district, or other municipal corporation 
incurring any indebtedness as aforesaid, shall before, or at 
the time of doing so, provide for the collection of a direct 
annual tax sufficient to pay the interest on such debt as it 
falls due, and also to pay and discharge the principal thereof 
within twenty years from the time of contracting the same. 
This section shall not be construed to prevent any county, 
city, township, school district, or other municipal corpora¬ 
tion, from issuing their bonds in compliance with any vote 
of the people which may have been had prior to the adoption 
of this constitution in pursuance of any law providing therefor. 

Sec. 13. The corporate authorities of the city of Chicago, 
are hereby authorized to issue interest-bearing bonds of 
said city to an amount not exceeding five million dollars, at a 
rate of interest not to exceed five per centum per annum, 
the principal payable within thirty years from the date of 
their issue, and the proceeds thereof shall be paid to the 
treasurer of the World’s Columbian Exposition, and used and 


230 


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disbursed by him under the direction and control of the 
directors, in aid of the World’s Columbian Exposition, to 
be held in the city of Chicago, in pursuance of an act of 
Congress of the United States. 

Provided, That if at the election for the adoption of this 
amendment to the constitution, a majority of the votes cast 
within the limits of the city of Chicago, shall be against its 
adoption, then no bonds shall be issued under this amend¬ 
ment. 

And said corporate authorities shall be repaid as large 
a proportionate amount of the aid given by them as is repaid 
to the stockholders on the sums subscribed and paid by them, 
and the money so received shall be used in the redemption 
of the bonds issued as aforesaid, provided that said authorities 
may take in whole or in part of the sum coming to them any 
permanent improvements placed on land held or controlled 
by them. 

And, provided further, That no such indebtedness so created 
shall in any part thereof be paid by the State, or from any 
State* revenue, tax or fund, but the same shall be paid, by the 
said city of Chicago alone.* 

ARTICLE X. 

COUNTIES. 

Section 1. No new county shall be formed or established 
by the general assembly which will reduce the county or 

* This added section was proposed by the General Assembly at the 
special session, 1890, ratified by a vote of the people November 4th, 1890, 
and at such election a majority of the votes cast within the limits of the 
city of Chicago were cast in favor of its adoption, and it was proclaimed 
adopted by the Governor. 


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231 


counties, or either of them, from which it shall be taken to 
less contents than four hundred square miles; nor shall any 
county be formed of less contents; nor shall any line thereof 
pass within less than ten miles of any county seat of the 
county or counties proposed to be divided. 

Sec . 2. No county shall be divided, or have any part 
stricken therefrom, without submitting the question to a vote 
of the people of the county, nor unless a majority of all the 
legal voters of the county voting on the question shall vote 
for the same. 

Sec. 3. There shall be no territory stricken from any 
county, unless a majority of the voters living in such territory 
shall petition for such division; and no territory shall be 
added to any county without the consent of the majority of 
the voters of the county to which it is proposed to be added. 
But the portion so stricken off and added to another county, 
or formed in whole or in part into a new county, shall be holden 
for, and obliged to pay its proportion of, the indebtedness of 
the county from which it has been taken. 

COUNTY SEATS. 

Sec. 4. No county seat shall be removed until the point 
to which it is proposed to be removed shall be fixed in pur¬ 
suance of law, and three-fifths of the voters of the county, 
to be ascertained in such manner as shall be provided by 
general law, shall have voted in favor of its removal to such 
point; and no person shall vote on such questions who has 
not resided in the county six months, and in the election pre¬ 
cinct ninety days next preceding such election. The ques¬ 
tion of the removal of a county seat shall not be oftener sub¬ 
mitted than once in ten years, to a vote of the people. But 


232 


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when an attempt is made to remove a county seat to a point 
nearer to the center of a county, then a majority vote only 
shall be necessary. 


COUNTY GOVERNMENT. 

Sec. 5. The general assembly shall provide, by general 
law, for township organization, under which any county 
may organize whenever a majority of the legal voters of such 
county, voting at any general election, shall so determine; 
and whenever any county shall adopt township organization, 
so much of this constitution as provides for the management 
of the fiscal concerns of the said county by the board of 
county commissioners, may be dispensed with, and the affairs 
of said county may be transacted in such manner as the 
general assembly may provide. And in any county that shall 
have adopted a township organization, the question of con¬ 
tinuing the same may be submitted to a vote of the electors 
of such county, at a general election, in the manner that now 
is or may be provided by law; and if a majority of all the 
votes cast upon that question shall be against township 
organization, then such organization shall cease in said 
county and all laws in force in relation to counties not having 
township organization, shall immediately take effect and be in 
force in such county. No two townships shall have the same 
name, and the day of holding the annual township meeting 
shall be uniform throughout the State. 

Sec. 6. At the first election of county judges under this 
constitution, there shall be elected in each of the counties 
in this State, not under township organization, three officers, 
who shall be styled, “The board of county commissioners,” 
who shall hold sessions for the transaction of county business 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


233 


as shall be provided by law. One of said commissioners shall 
hold his office for one year, one for two years, and one for 
three years, to be determined by lot; and every year there¬ 
after one such officer shall be elected in each of said counties 
for the term of three years. 

Sec. 7. The county affairs of Cook County shall be man¬ 
aged by a board of Commissioners of fifteen persons, ten of 
whom shall be elected from the city of Chicago and five from 
towns outside of said city, in such manner as may be provided 
by law. 

COUNTY OFFICERS AND THEIR COMPENSATION* 

Sec. 8. In each county there shall be elected the following 
county officers, at the general election to be held on the 
Tuesday after the first Monday in November, a.d. 1882: 
A county judge, county clerk, sheriff and treasurer, and at the 
election to be held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in 
November, a. d. 1884, a coroner and clerk of the circuit court 
(who may be ex officio recorder of deeds, except in counties 
having sixty thousand and more inhabitants, in which counties 
a recorder of deeds shall be elected at the general election 
in 1884). Each of said officers shall enter upon the duties 
of his office, resepectively, on the first Monday of December 
after his election, and they shall hold their respective offices 
for the term of four years, and until their successors are elected 
and qualified: Provided , that no person having once been 
elected to the office of sheriff or treasurer, shall be eligible to 

* As modified by the second amendment to the Constitution of 1870. 
The joint resolution was adopted by the Senate March 4, 1879, and by 
the House May 22, 1879. It was adopted by the vote of the people 
November 2, 1880, and proclaimed ratified November 22, 1880. 


234 


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re-election to said office for four years after the expiration of 
the term for which he shall have been elected. 

Sec. 9. The clerks of all courts of record, the treasurer, 
sheriff, coroner and recorder of deeds of Cook County, shall 
receive as their only compensation for their services, salaries 
to be fixed by law, which shall in no case be as much as the 
lawful compensation of a judge of the circuit court of said 
county and shall be paid, respectively, only out of the fees 
of the office actually collected. All fees, perquisites and 
emoluments (above the amount of said salaries) shall be paid 
into the county treasury. The number of the deputies and 
assistants of such officers shall be determined by rule of the 
circuit court, to be entered of record, and their compensation 
shall be determined by the county board. 

Sec. 10. The county board, except as provided in section 
nine of this article, shall fix the compensation of all county 
officers, with the amount of their necessary clerk hire, sta¬ 
tionery, fuel, and other expenses, and in all cases where fees 
are provided for, said compensation shall be paid only out of, 
and shall in no instance exceed, the fees actually collected; 
they shall not allow either of them more per annum than 
fifteen hundred dollars, in counties not exceeding twenty 
thousand inhabitants; two thousand dollars, in counties 
containing twenty thousand and not exceeding thirty thou¬ 
sand inhabitants; twenty-five hundred dollars, in counties 
containing thirty thousand and not exceeding fifty thousand 
inhabitants; three thousand dollars, in counties containing 
fifty thousand and not exceeding seventy thousand inhabitants; 
thirty-five hundred dollars, in counties containing seventy 
thousand and not exceeding one hundred thousand inhabit¬ 
ants; and four thousand dollars, in counties containing 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


235 


over one hundred thousand, and not exceeding two hundred 
and fifty thousand inhabitants; and not more than one 
thousand dollars additional compensation for each additional 
one hundred thousand inhabitants: Provided , that the com¬ 
pensation of no officer shall be increased or diminished during 
his term of office. All fees or allowances by them received, 
in excess of their said compensation, shall be paid into the 
county treasury. 

Sec. 11. The fees of township officers, and of each class of 
county officers, shall be uniform in the class of counties to 
which they respectively belong. The compensation herein 
provided for shall apply only to officers hereafter elected, 
but all fees established by special laws shall cease at the 
adoption of this constitution, and such officers shall receive 
only such fees as are provided by general law. 

Sec. 12. All laws fixing the fees of State, county and town¬ 
ship officers, shall terminate with the terms respectively of 
those who may be in office at the meeting of the first general 
assembly after the adoption of this constitution; and the 
general assembly shall, by general law, uniform in its operation, 
provide for and regulate the fees of said officers and their 
successors, so as to reduce the same to a reasonable compensa¬ 
tion for services actually rendered. But the general assembly 
may, by general law, classify the counties by population into 
not more than three classes, and regulate the fees according 
to class. This article shall not be construed as depriving 
the general assembly of the power to reduce the fees of existing 
officers. 

Sec. 13. Every person who is elected or appointed to any 
office in this State, who shall be paid in whole or in part by 
fees, shall be required by law to make a semi-annual report, 


236 


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under oath, to some officer to be designated by law, of all his 
fees and emoluments. 


ARTICLE XI. 

CORPORATIONS. 

Section. 1 No corporation shall be created by special laws, 
or its charter extended, changed or amended, except those 
for charitable, educational, penal or reformatory purposes, 
which are to be and remain under the patronage and control 
of the State, but the general assembly shall provide, by general 
laws, for the organization of all corporations hereafter to be 
created. 

Sec. 2. All existing charters or grants of special or exclu¬ 
sive privileges, under which organization shall not have taken 
place, or which shall not have been in operation within ten 
days from the time this constitution takes effect, shall there¬ 
after have no validity or effect whatever. 

Sec. 3. The general assembly shall provide, by law, that 
in all elections for directors or managers of incorporated com¬ 
panies every stockholder shall have the right to vote, in per¬ 
son, or by proxy, for the number of shares of stock owned by 
him, for as many persons as there are directors or managers to 
be elected, or to cumulate said shares, and give one candidate 
as many votes as the number of directors multiplied by the 
number of his shares of stock shall equal, or to distribute 
them on the same principle among as many candidates as 
he shall think fit; and such directors or managers shall not 
be elected in any other manner. 

Sec. 4. No law shall be passed by the general assembly 
granting the right to construct and operate a street railroad 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


237 


within any city, town or incorporated village, without re¬ 
quiring the consent of the local authorities having the control 
of the street or highway proposed to be occupied by such 
street railroad. 


BANKS. 

Sec. 5. No State bank shall hereafter be created, nor shall 
the State own or be liable for any stock in any corporation 
or joint stock company or association for banking purposes 
now created, or to be hereafter created. No act of the 
general assembly authorizing or creating corporations or 
associations with banking powers, whether of issue, deposit or 
discount, nor amendments thereto, shall go into effect or 
in any manner be in force, unless the same shall be submitted 
to a vote of the people at the general election next succeeding 
the passage of the same, and be approved by a majority of 
all the votes cast at such election for or against such law. 

Sec. 6. Every stockholder in a banking corporation or 
institution shall be individually responsible and liable to its 
creditors, over and above the amount of stock by him or her 
held, to an amount equal to his or her respective shares so 
held, for all its liablilities accruing while he or she remains 
such stockholder. 

Sec. 7. The suspension of specie payments by banking 
institutions, on their circulation, created by the laws of this 
State, shall never be permitted or sanctioned. Every bank¬ 
ing association now, or which may hereafter be, organized 
under the laws of this State, shall make and publish a full and 
accurate quarterly statement of its affairs (which shall be 
certified to, under oath, by one or more of its officers) as may 
be provided by law. 


238 


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Sec. 8. If a general banking law shall be enacted, it shall 
provide for the registry and countersigning, by an officer of 
State, of all bills or paper credit designed to circulate as 
money, and require security, to the full amount thereof, to be 
deposited with the state treasurer, in United States or Illinois 
State stocks, to be rated at ten percent below their par value; 
and in case of a depreciation of said stocks to the amount of 
ten percent below par, the bank or banks owning said stocks 
shall be required to make up said deficiency by depositing 
additional stocks. And said law shall also provide for the 
recording of the names of all stockholders in such corpora¬ 
tions, the amount of stock held by each, the time of any 
transfer thereof, and to whom such transfer is made. 

RAILROADS. 

Sec. 9. Every railroad corporation organized or doing 
business in this State, under the laws or authority thereof, 
shall have and maintain a public office or place in this State 
for the transaction of its business, where transfers of stock 
shall be made, and in which shall be kept, for public inspection, 
books in which shall be recorded the amount of capital stock 
subscribed, and by whom; the names of the owners of its 
stock, and the amounts owned by them respectively; the 
amount of stock paid in, and by whom; the transfers of said 
stock; the amount of its assets and liabilities, and the names 
and place of residence of its officers. The directors of every 
railroad corporation shall annually make a report, under 
oath, to the auditor of public accounts, or some officer to be 
designated by law, of all their acts and doings, which report 
shall include such matters relating to railroads as may be 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


239 


prescribed by law. And the general assembly shall pass 
laws enforcing by suitable penalties the provisions of this 
section. 

Sec. 10. The rolling stock, and all other movable property 
belonging to any railroad company or corporation in this 
State, shall be considered personal property, and shall be 
liable to execution and sale in the same manner as the personal 
property of individuals, and the general assembly shall pass 
no law exempting any such property from execution and sale. 

Sec. 11. No railroad corporation shall consolidate its 
stock, property or franchises with any other railroad cor¬ 
poration owning a parallel or competing line; and in no case 
shall any consolidation take place except upon public notice 
given, of at least sixty days, to all stockholders, in such 
manner as may be provided by law. A majority of the 
directors of any railroad corporation, now incorporated or 
hereafter to be incorporated by the laws of this State, shall 
be citizens and residents of this State. 

Sec. 12. Railways heretofore constructed or that may 
hereafter be constructed in this State, are hereby declared 
public highways, and shall be free to all persons for the trans¬ 
portation of their persons and property thereon, under 
such regulations as may be prescribed by law. And the 
general assembly shall, from time to time, pass laws establish¬ 
ing reasonable maximum rates of charges for the transporta¬ 
tion of passengers and freight on the different railroads in this 
State. 

Sec. 13. No railroad corporation shall issue any stock 
or bonds, except for money, labor, or property actually re¬ 
ceived and applied to the purposes for which such corporation 
was created; and all stock dividends, and other fictitious 


240 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


increase of capital stock or indebtedness of any such corpora¬ 
tion, shall be void. The capital stock of no railroad corpora¬ 
tion shall be increased for any purpose, except upon giving 
sixty days’ public notice, in such manner as may be pro¬ 
vided by law. 

Sec. 14. The exercise of the power and the right of eminent 
domain shall never be so construed or abridged as to prevent 
the taking, by the general assembly, of the property and 
franchises of incorporated companies already organized, and 
subjecting them to the public necessity the same as of in¬ 
dividuals. The right of trial by jury shall be held inviolate 
in all trials of claims for compensation, when, in the exercise 
of the said right of eminent domain, any incorporated com¬ 
pany shall be interested either for or against the exercise of 
said right. 

Sec. 15. The general assembly shall pass laws to correct 
abuses and prevent unjust discrimination and extortion in 
the rates of freight and passenger tariffs on the different rail¬ 
roads in this State, and enforce such laws by adequate penal¬ 
ties, to the extent, if necessary for that purpose, of forfeiture 
of their property and franchises. 

ARTICLE XII. 

MILITIA. 

Section 1. The militia of the State of Illinois shall consist 
of all able-bodied male persons, resident in the State, between 
the ages of eighteen and forty-five, except such persons as 
now are or hereafter may be exempted by the laws of the 
United States or of this State. 

Sec. 2. The general assembly, in providing for the or- 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


241 


ganization, equipment and discipline of the militia, shall con¬ 
form as nearly as practicable to the regulations for the govern¬ 
ment of the armies of the United States. 

Sec. 3. All militia officers shall be commissioned by the 
governor, and may hold their commissions for such time as 
the general assembly may provide. 

Sec. 4. The militia shall, in all cases except treason, 
felony, or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest dur¬ 
ing their attendance at musters and elections, and in going 
to and returning from the same. 

Sec. 5. The military records, banners and relics of the 
State shall be preserved as an enduring memorial of the 
patriotism and valor of Illinois, and it shall be the duty of 
the general assembly to provide by law for the safe-keeping 
of the same. 

Sec. 6. No person having conscientious scruples against 
bearing arms shall be compelled to do militia duty in time 
of peace: Provided , such person shall pay an equivalent for 
such exemption. 

ARTICLE XIII. 

WAREHOUSES. 

Section. 1. All elevators or storehouses where grain or 
other property is stored for a compensation, whether the 
property stored be kept separate or not, are declared to 
be public warehouses. 

Sec. 2. The owner, lessee or manager of each and every 
public warehouse situated in any town or city of not less than 
one hundred thousand inhabitants, shall make weekly state¬ 
ments under oath, before some officer to be designated by 
law, and keep the same posted in some conspicuous place in 


242 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


the office of such warehouse, and shall also file a copy for 
public examination in such place as shall be designated by 
law, which statement shall correctly set forth the amount 
and grade of each and every kind of grain in such warehouse, 
together with such other property as may be stored therein, 
and what warehouse receipts have been issued, and are, at the 
time of making such statement, outstanding therefor; and 
shall, on the copy posted in the warehouse, note daily such 
changes as may be made in the quantity and grade of grain 
in such warehouse; and the different grades of grain shipped 
in separate lots shall not be mixed with inferior or superior 
grades without the consent of the owner or consignee thereof. 

Sec. 3. The owners of property stored in any warehouse, 
or holder of a receipt for the same, shall always be at liberty 
to examine such property stored, and all the books and records 
of the warehouse, in regard to such property. 

Sec. 4. All railroad companies and other common carriers 
on railroads shall weigh or measure grain at points where it is 
shipped and receipt for the full amount, and shall be responsi¬ 
ble for the delivery of such amount to the owner or consignee 
thereof, at the place of destination. 

Sec. 5. All railroad companies receiving and transporting 
grain in bulk or otherwise, shall deliver the same to any con¬ 
signee thereof, or any elevator or public warehouse to which 
it may be consigned, provided such consignee or the elevator 
or public warehouse can be reached by any track owned, 
leased or used, or which can be used, by such railroad com¬ 
panies; and all railroad companies shall permit connections 
to be made with their track, so that any such consignee and 
any public warehouse, coal bank or coal yard may be reached 
by the cars on said railroad. 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


243 


Sec. 6. It shall be the duty of the general assembly to 
pass all necessary laws to prevent the issue of false and 
fraudulent warehouse receipts, and to give full effect to this 
article of the constitution, which shall be liberally construed 
so as to protect producers and shippers. And the enumeration 
of the remedies herein named shall not be construed to deny 
to the general assembly the power to prescribe by law such 
other and further remedies as may be found expedient, or 
to deprive any person of existing common law remedies. 

Sec. 7. The general assembly shall pass laws for the in¬ 
spection of grain, for the protection of producers, shippers and 
receivers of grain and produce. 

ARTICLE XIV. 

AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION. 

Section 1. Whenever two-thirds of the members of each 
house of the general assembly shall, by a vote entered upon 
the journals thereof, concur that a convention is necessary to 
revise, alter or amend the constitution, the question shall be 
submitted to the electors at the next general election. If a 
majority voting at the election vote for a convention, the 
general assembly shall, at the next session, provide for a con¬ 
vention, to consist of double the number of members of the 
senate, to be elected in the same manner, at the same places, 
and in the same districts. The general assembly shall, in the 
act calling the convention, designate the day, hour and place 
of its meeting, fix the pay of its members and officers, and pro¬ 
vide for the payment of the same, together with the expenses 
necessarily incurred by the convention in the performance 
of its duties. Before proceeding, the members shall take an 


244 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


oath to support the Constitution of the United States, and of 
the State of Illinois, and to faithfully discharge their duties 
as members of the convention. The qualification of members 
shall be the same as that of members of the senate, and va¬ 
cancies occurring shall be filled in the manner provided for 
filling vacancies in the general assembly. Said convention 
shall meet within three months after such election, and pre¬ 
pare such revision, alteration or amendments of the constitu¬ 
tion as shall be deemed necessary, which shall be submitted 
to the electors for their ratification or rejection at an election 
appointed by the convention for that purpose, not less than 
two nor more than six months after the adjournment thereof; 
and unless so submitted, and approved by a majority of the 
electors voting at the election, no such revision, alteration or 
amendments shall take effect. 

Sec. 2. Amendments to this constitution may be proposed 
in either house of the general assembly, and if the same shall 
be voted for by two-thirds of all the members elected to each 
of the two houses, such proposed amendments, together with 
the yeas and nays of each house thereon, shall be entered in 
full on their respective journals, and said amendments shall 
be submitted to the electors of this State for adoption or 
rejection, at the next election of members of the general 
assembly, in such manner as may be prescribed by law. The 
proposed amendments shall be published in full at least three 
months preceding the election, and if a majority of the electors 
voting at said election shall vote for the proposed amend¬ 
ments, they shall become a part of this constitution. But 
the general assembly shall have no power to propose amend¬ 
ments to more than one article of this constitution at the same 
session, nor to the same article oftener than once in four years. 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


245 


SECTIONS SEPARATELY SUBMITTED* 

ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD. 

No contract, obligation, or liability whatever, of the 
Illinois Central Railroad Company to pay any money into 
the State treasury, nor any lien of the State upon, or right 
to tax property of said company, in accordance with the pro¬ 
visions of the charter of said company, approved February 
tenth, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred 
and fifty-one, shall ever be released, suspended, modified, 
altered, remitted, or in any manner diminished or impaired 
by legislative or other authority; and all moneys derived 
from said company, after the payment of the State debt, 
shall be appropriated and set apart for the payment of the 
ordinary expenses of the State government, and for no other 
purposes whatever. 

MINORITY REPRESENTATION. 

[See Sections 7 and 8, Article IV.] 

MUNICIPAL SUBSCRIPTIONS TO RAILROADS OR PRIVATE 
CORPORATIONS. 

No county, city, town, township, or other municipality, 
shall ever become subscriber to the capital stock of any rail¬ 
road or private corporation, or make donation to or loan 
its credit in aid of such corporation: Provided , however , 
that the adoption of this article shall not be construed as 
affecting the right of any such municipality to make such 
subscriptions where the same have been authorized, under 

* These sections were separately submitted to the vote of the people: 
they went into effect as law July 2, 1870, 


246 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


existing laws, by a vote of the people of such municipalities 
prior to such adoption. 

CANAL. 

[railroad state aid prohibited.] 

The Illinois and Michigan Canal shall never be sold or 
leased until the specific proposition for the sale or lease 
thereof shall first have been submitted to a vote of the people 
of the State, at a general election, and have been approved 
by a majority of all the votes polled at such election. The 
general assembly shall never loan the credit of the State, or 
make appropriations from the treasury thereof, in aid of 
railroads or canals: Provided , that any surplus earnings 
of any canal may be appropriated for its enlargement or 
extension. 

SCHEDULE. 

That no inconvenience may arise from the alterations and 
amendments made in the Constitution of this State, and to 
carry the same into complete effect, it is hereby ordained 
and declared: 

Section 1. That all laws in force at the adoption of this 
Constitution, not inconsistent therewith, and all rights, 
actions, prosecutions, claims and contracts of the State, 
individuals, or bodies corporate, shall continue to be as valid 
as if this constitution had not been adopted. 

Sec. 2. That all fines, taxes, penalties and forfeitures, 
due and owing to the State of Illinois under the present con¬ 
stitution and laws, shall inure to the use of the people of the 
State of Illinois, under this constitution. 

Sec. 3. Recognizances, bonds, obligations, and all other 
instruments entered into or executed before the adoption 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


247 


of this constitution, to the people of the State of Illinois, to 
any State or county officer, or public body, shall remain 
binding and valid; and rights and liabilities upon the same 
shall continue, and all crimes and misdemeanors shall be tried 
and punished as though no change had been made in the 
constitution of this State. 

Sec. 4. County courts for the transaction of county 
business in counties not having adopted township organiza¬ 
tion shall continue in existence, and exercise their present 
jurisdiction until the board of county commissioners pro¬ 
vided in this constitution is organized in pursuance of an act 
of the general assembly; and the county courts in all other 
counties shall have the same power and jurisdiction they 
now possess until otherwise provided by law. 

Sec. 5. All existing courts which are not in this constitu¬ 
tion specifically enumerated shall continue in existence and 
exercise their present jurisdiction until otherwise provided 
by law. 

Sec. 6. All persons now filling any office or appointment 
shall continue in the exercise of the duties thereof according 
to their respective commissions or appointments, unless by 
this constitution it is otherwise directed. 

[Sections 7 to 17, both inclusive, providing for the submission of this 
constitution and voting thereon by the people, became inoperative by 
the adoption of this constitution.] 

Sec. 7. On the day this constitution is submitted to the 
people for ratification an election shall be held for judges of 
the supreme court in the second, third, sixth and seventh 
judicial election districts designated in this constitution, and 
for the election of three judges of the circuit court in the 


24S 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


county of Cook, as provided for in the article of this constitu¬ 
tion relating to the judiciary, at which election every person 
entitled to vote, according to the terms of this constitution, 
shall be allowed to vote, and the election shall be otherwise 
conducted, returns made, and certificates issued, in accord¬ 
ance with existing laws, except that no registry shall be 
required at said election: Provided , that at said election in 
the county of Cook no elector shall vote for more than two 
candidates for circuit judge. If, upon canvassing the votes 
for and against the adoption of this constitution, it shall 
appear that there has been polled a greater number of votes 
against than for it, then no certificates of election shall be 
issued for any of said supreme or circuit judges. 

Sec. 8. This constitution shall be submitted to the people 
of the State of Illinois for adoption or rejection at an election 
to be held on the first Saturday in July, in the year of our Lord 
one thousand eight hundred and seventy, and there shall be 
separately submitted at the same time, for adoption or re¬ 
jection, sections nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen 
and fifteen relating to railroads, in the article entitled “ Cor¬ 
porations,’’ the article entitled “ Counties,” the article en¬ 
titled “Warehouses,” the question of requiring a three- 
fifths vote to remove a county seat, the section relating to the 
Illinois Central Railroad, the section in relation to minority 
representation, the section relating to municipal subscrip¬ 
tions to railroads or private corporations, and the section re¬ 
lating to the canal. Every person entitled to vote under the 
provisions of this constitution, as defined in the article in 
relation to suffrage, shall be entitled to vote for the adop¬ 
tion or rejection of this constitution, and for or against the 
articles, sections and questions aforesaid, separately sub- 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


249 


mitted, and the said qualified electors shall vote at the usual 
places of voting, unless otherwise provided; and the said 
election shall be conducted, and returns thereof made, accord¬ 
ing to the laws now in force regulating general elections, except 
that no registry shall be required at said election: Provided , 
however , that the polls shall be kept open for the reception of 
ballots until sunset of said day of election. 

Sec. 9. The secretary of state shall, at least twenty days 
before said election, cause to be delivered to the county clerk 
of each county, blank poll-books, tally-sheets, and forms of 
return and twice the number of properly prepared printed 
ballots for the said election that there are voters in such 
county, the expense whereof shall be audited and paid as 
other public printing ordered by the secretary of state is, 
by law, required to be audited and paid, and the several 
county clerks shall at least five days before said election, 
cause to be distributed to the board of election, in each 
election district in their respective counties, said blank 
poll-books, tally-lists, forms of return, and tickets. 

Sec. 10. At the said election the ballots shall be in the 
following form: 


NEW CONSTITUTION TICKET. 

For all the propositions on this ticket which are not can¬ 
celled with ink or pencil, and against all propositions which 
are so cancelled. 

For the new constitution. 

For the sections relating to railroads in the article entitled 
“ Corporations.” 

For the article entitled “ Counties.” 

For the article entitled “Warehouses.” 


250 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


For a three-fifths vote to remove county seats. 

For the section relating to the Illinois Central Railroad. 

For the section relating to minority representation. 

For the section relating to municipal subscriptions to 
railroads or private corporations. 

For the section relating to the canal. 

Each of said tickets shall be counted as a vote cast for each 
proposition thereon not cancelled with ink or pencil, and 
against each proposition so cancelled, and returns thereof 
shall be made accordingly by the judges of election. 

Sec. 11. The returns of the whole vote cast, and of the 
votes for the adoption or rejection of this constitution, and 
for or against the articles and sections respectively submitted, 
shall be made by the several county clerks, as is now pro¬ 
vided by law, to the secretary of state, within twenty days 
after the election, and the returns of said votes shall, within 
five days thereafter, be examined and canvassed by the 
auditor, treasurer and secretary of state, or any two of them, 
in the presence of the governor, and proclamation shall be 
made by the governor forthwith of the result of the canvass. 

Sec. 12. If it shall appear that a majority of the votes 
polled are “for the new constitution,” then so much of this 
constitution as was not separately submitted to be voted on 
by articles and sections, shall be the supreme law of the 
State of Illinois on and after Monday, the eighth day of 
August, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred 
and seventy; but if it shall appear that a majority of the 
votes polled were “against the new constitution,” then so 
much thereof as was not separately submitted to be voted 
on by articles and sections shall be null and void. 

If it shall appear that a majority of the votes polled are 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


251 


“for the sections relating to railroads in the article entitled 
‘Corporations,’” sections nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, 
fourteen and fifteen, relating to railroads in the said article, 
shall be a part of the constitution of this State, but if a ma¬ 
jority of said votes are against such sections, they shall be 
null and void. If a majority of the votes polled are “for the 
article entitled ‘Counties,’” such article shall be part of 
the constitution of this State, and shall be substituted for 
article seven, in the present constitution, entitled ‘Coun¬ 
ties”; but if a majority of said votes are against such article 
the same shall be null and void. If a majority of the votes 
polled are “for the article entitled ‘Warehouses,’” such arti¬ 
cle shall be part of the constitution of this State; but if a 
majority of the votes are against said article, the same shall 
be null and void. If a majority of the votes polled are for 
either of the sections separately submitted, relating re¬ 
spectively to the “Illinois Central Railroad,” “minority 
representation,” “municipal subscriptions to railroads or 
private corporations,” and the “canal,” then such of said 
sections as shall receive such majority shall be a part of 
the constitution of this State; but each of said sections so 
separately submitted against which respectively there shall 
be a majority of the votes polled, shall be null and void: 
Provided , that the section relating to “minority representa¬ 
tion” shall not be declared adopted unless the portion of the 
constitution not separately submitted to be voted on by 
articles and sections shall be adopted; and in case said section 
relating to “minority representation” shall become a portion 
of the constitution, it shall be substituted for sections seven 
and eight of the legislative article. If a majority of the votes 
cast at such election shall be for a three-fifths vote to remove 


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a county seat, then the words “a majority” shall be stricken 
out of section four of the article on Counties, and the words 
“ three-fifths” shall be inserted in lieu thereof, and the follow¬ 
ing words shall be added to said section, to-wit: “But when 
an attempt is made to remove a county seat to a point nearer 
to the center of a county, then a majority vote only shall 
be necessary.” If the foregoing proposition shall not receive 
a majority of the votes, as aforesaid, then the same shall 
have no effect whatever. 

Sec. 13. Immediately after the adoption of this constitu¬ 
tion, the governor and secretary of state shall proceed to 
ascertain and fix the apportionment of the State for members 
of the first house of representatives under this constitution. 
The apportionment shall be based upon the federal census 
of the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and 
seventy, of the State of Illinois, and shall be made strictly 
in accordance with the rules and principles announced in 
the article on the legislative department of this constitution: 
Provided , that in case the federal census aforesaid cannot be 
ascertained prior to Friday, the twenty-third day of September, 
in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and 
seventy, then the said apportionment shall be based on the 
State census of the year of our Lord one thousand eight 
hundred and sixty-five, in accordance with the rules and 
principles aforesaid. The governor shall, on or before Wednes- 
day, the twenty-eighth day of September, in the year of our 
Lord one thousand eight hunded and seventy, make official 
announcement of said apportionment, under the great seal 
of the State; and one hundred copies thereof, duly certified, 
shall be forthwith transmitted by the secretary of state to 
each county clerk for distribution. 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


253 


Sec. 14. The districts shall be regularly numbered by 
the secretary of state, commencing with Alexander County as 
number one, and proceeding then northwardly through the 
State, and terminating with the County of Cook, but no 
county shall be numbered as more than one district, except 
the County of Cook, which shall constitute three districts, 
each embracing the territory contained in the now existing 
representative districts of said county. And on the Tuesday 
after the first Monday in November, in the year of our Lord 
one thousand eight hundred and seventy, the members of 
the first house of representatives under this constitution shall 
be elected according to the apportionment fixed and announced 
as aforesaid, and shall hold their offices for two years, and until 
their successors shall be elected and qualified. 

Sec. 15. The senate, at its first session under this consti¬ 
tution, shall consist of fifty members, to be chosen as follows: 
At the general election held on the first Tuesday after the 
first Monday of November, in the year of our Lord one thou¬ 
sand eight hundred and seventy, two senators shall be elected 
in districts where the term of senators expires on the first 
Monday of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand 
eight hundred and seventy-one, or where there shall be a 
vacancy, and in the remaining districts one senator shall be 
elected. Senators so elected shall hold their office two years. 

Sec. 16. The general assembly, at its first session held 
after the adoption of this constitution, shall proceed to ap¬ 
portion the State for members of the senate and house of 
representatives, in accordance with the provisions of the 
article on the legislative department. 

Sec. 17. When this constitution shall be ratified by the 
people, the governor shall forthwith, after having ascertained 


254 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


the fact, issue writs of election to the sheriffs of the several 
counties of the State, or in case of vacancies, to the coroners, 
for the election of all the officers the time of whose election 
is fixed by this constitution or schedule, and it shall be the 
duty of said sheriffs or coroners to give such notice of the 
time and place of said election as is now described by law. 

Sec. 18. All laws of the State of Illinois and all official 
writings, and the executive, legislative and judicial proceed¬ 
ings, shall be conducted, preserved and published in no other 
than the English language. 

Sec. 19. The general assembly shall pass all laws necessary 
to carry into effect the provisions of this constitution. 

Sec. 20. The circuit clerks of the different counties having 
a population over sixty thousand shall continue to be re¬ 
corders (ex officio) for their respective counties, under this 
constitution, until the expiration of their respective terms. 

Sec. 21. The judges of all courts of record in Cook County 
shall, in lieu of any salary provided for in this constitution, 
receive the compensation provided by law until the adjourn¬ 
ment of the first session of the general assembly after the 
adoption of this constitution. 

Sec. 22. The present judge of the circuit court of Cook 
County shall continue to hold the circuit court of Lake County 
until otherwise provided by law. 

Sec. 23. When this constitution shall be adopted and take 
effect as the supreme law of the State of Illinois, the two- 
mill tax provided to be annually assessed and collected upon 
each dollar’s worth of taxable property, in addition to all 
other taxes, as set forth in article fifteen of the now existing 
constitution, shall cease to be assessed after the year of our 
Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy. 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


255 


Sec. 24. Nothing contained in this constitution shall be 
so construed as to deprive the general assembly of power 
to authorize the city of Quincy to create any indebtedness for 
railroad or municipal purposes for which the people of said 
city shall have voted and to which they shall have given, by 
such vote, their assent, prior to the thirteenth day of Decem¬ 
ber, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and 
sixty-nine: Provided, that no such indebtedness so created 
shall, in any part thereof, be paid by the State or from any 
State revenue tax or fund, but the same shall be paid if at 
all, by the said city of Quincy alone, and by taxes to be levied 
upon the taxable property thereof. And provided , further , 
that the general assembly shall have no power in the premises 
that it could not exercise under the present constitution of 
the State. 

Sec. 25. In case this constitution, and the articles and 
sections submitted separately be adopted, the existing con¬ 
stitution shall cease in all its provisions; and in case this 
constitution be adopted, and any one or more of the arti¬ 
cles or sections submitted separately be defeated, the provi¬ 
sions of the existing constitution, if any, on the same subject 
shall remain in force. 

Sec. 26. The provisions of this constitution required to be 
executed prior to the adoption or rejection thereof, shall take 
effect and be in force immediately. 


[attestation.] 

Done in convention at the capitol in the city of Springfield, 
on the thirteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord one 


256 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


thousand eight hundred and seventy, and of the independence 
of the United States of America the ninety-fourth. 

In witness whereof, we have hereunto subscribed our names. 

Charles Hitchcock, President. 


William J. Allen 
John Abbott 
James C. Allen 
Elliott Anthony 
Wm. R. Archer 
Henry I. Atkins 
James G. Bayne 
R. M. Benjamin 
H. P. H. Bromwell 
O. H. Browning 
Wm. G. Bowman 
Silas L. Bryan 
H. P. Buxton 
Daniel Cameron 
William Cary 
Lawrence S. Church 
Hiram H. Cody 
W. F. Coolbaugh 
Alfred M. Craig 
Robert J. Cross 
Samuel P. Cummings 
John Dement 
G. S. Eldridge 
James W. English 
David Ellis 
Ferris Forman 


Jesse C. Fox 
Miles A. Fuller 
John P. Gamble 
Addison Goodell 
John C. Haines 
Elijah M. Haines 
John W. Hankins 
R. P. Hanna 
Joseph Hart 
Abel Harwood 
Milton Hay 

Samuel Snowden Hayes 
Jesse S. Hildrup 
Jas. McCoy 
Charles E. McDowell 
William C. Goodhue 
Joseph Medill 
Clifton H. Moore 
Jonathan Merriam 
Joseph Parker 
Samuel C. Parker 
Peleg S. Perley 
J. S. Poage 
Edward Y. Rice 
James P. Robinson 
Lewis W. Ross 


Robert A. King 
William P. Pierce 

N. J. Pillsbury 
John Scholfield 
James M. Sharp 
Henry Sherrell 
Wm. H. Snyder 

O. C. Skinner 
Westel W. Sedgwick 
Charles F. Springer 
John L. Tincher 

C. Truesdale 
Henry Tubbs 
Thomas J. Turner 
Wm. H. Underwood 
Wm. H. Vandeventer 
Henry W. Wells 
George E. Wait 
George W. Wall 

R. B. Sunderland 

D. C. Wagner 
George R. Wendling 
Chas. Wheaton 

L. D. Whiting 
John H. \yilson 
Orlando H. Wright 


Attest: John Q. Harmon, Secretary. 

Daniel Shepard, First Assistant Secretary. 
A. H. Swain, Second Assistant Secretary. 


■ CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


257 


AMENDMENTS. * 

CONTRACT CONVICT LABOR. 

Hereafter it shall be unlawful for the commissioners of any 
penitentiary or other reformatory institution in the State of 
Illinois to let by contract to any person or persons, or cor¬ 
porations, the labor of any convict confined within said 
institution. 


* Proposed by joint resolution of the Thirty-fourth General Assembly 
adopted by vote of the people November 2, 1886, proclaimed ratified 
November 22, 1886. 


ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 


On June 11, 1776, Congress resolved that a committee 
should be appointed to prepare a form of confederation. 
This committee, appointed the following day, consisted of 
one member from each state. It reported on July 12, 
1776, through John Dickinson, of Pennsylvania, a draft of 
articles of confederation. These were debated time and 
time again, and finally adopted November 15, 1777. It 
was not until March 1, 1781, however, that all the states 
signed the Articles, thus perfecting the league of states. 
From the beginning of the war up to March 2, 1781, the 
Congress exercised sovereign powers under an unwritten 
constitution, and on that day it met for the first time under 
a written constitution. 

Following is the text: 

ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION 

TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, 

We, the undersigned, Delegates of the States affixed to our names , 
send greeting: 

Whereas the delegates of the United States of America in 
Congress assembled, did, on the fifteenth day of November, in 
the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy- 
seven, and in the second year of the Independence of America, 
agree to certain Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, 

258 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


259 


between the States of New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, 
Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, 
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North 
Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, in the words following, 
viz.: 

Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union between the States 
of New Hampshire , Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island and 
Providence Plantations, Connecticut , New York, New Jersey, 
Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland , Virginia, North Carolina , 
South Carolina, and Georgia. 

Article I.— The style of this Confederacy shall be, “The 
United States of America.’* 

Art. II.— Each State retains its sovereignty, freedom and 
independence, and every power, jurisdiction and right, which is 
not by this Confederation expressly delegated to the United 
States in Congress assembled. 

Art. III.— The said States hereby severally enter into a 
firm league of friendship with each other, for their common 
defense, the security of their liberties, and their mutual and gen¬ 
eral welfare, binding themselves to assist each other against all 
force offered to, or attacks made upon them, or any of them, on 
account of religion, sovereignty, trade, or any other pretense 
whatever. 

Art. IV.— The better to secure and perpetuate mutual friend¬ 
ship and intercourse among the people of the different States 
in this Union, the free inhabitants of each of these States — pau¬ 
pers, vagabonds, and fugitives from justice excepted,— shall be 
entitled to all privileges and immunities of free citizens in the 
several States; and the people of each State shall have free 
ingress and regress to and from any other State, and shall enjoy 


260 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


therein all the privileges of trade and commerce, subject to the 
same duties, impositions, and restrictions as the inhabitants 
thereof respectively; provided that such restrictions shall not 
extend so far as to prevent the removal of property imported into 
any State, to any other State of which the owner is an inhabitant; 
provided also, that no imposition, duties, or restriction shall be 
laid by any State on the property of the United States or either 
of them. 

If any person guilty of, or charged with, treason, felony, or 
other high misdemeanor in any State shall flee from justice and 
be found in any of the United States, he shall, upon demand of 
the governor or executive power of the State from which he fled, 
be delivered up and removed to the State having jurisdiction of 
his offense. 

Full faith and credit shall be given in each of these States 
to the records, acts, and judicial proceedings of the courts and 
magistrates of every other State. 

Art. V. — For the more convenient management of the gen¬ 
eral interests of the United States, delegates shall be annually 
appointed in such manner as the legislature of each State shall 
direct, to meet in Congress on the first Monday in November, in 
every year, with a power reserved to each State to recall its dele¬ 
gates, or any of them, at any time within the year, and to send 
others in their stead for the remainder of the year. 

No State shall be represented in Congress by less than two, 
nor by more than seven members; and no person shall be capable 
of being a delegate for more than three years in any term of six 
years ; nor shall any person, being a delegate, be capable of 
holding any office under the United States, for which he, or 
another for his benefit, receives any salary, fees, or emolument 
of any kind. 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


261 


Each State shall maintain its own delegates in any meeting 
of the States and while they act as members of the Committee of 
the States. 

In determining questions in the United States in Congress 
assembled, each State shall have one vote. 

Freedom of speech and debate in Congress shall not be 
impeached or questioned in any court or place out of Congress; 
and the members of Congress shall be protected in their persons 
from arrests and imprisonments during the time of their going to 
and from, and attendance on, Congress, except for treason, 
felony, or breach of the peace. 

Art. VI. — No State, without the consent of the United 
States in Congress assembled, shall send any embassy to, or 
receive any embassy from, or enter into any conference, agree¬ 
ment, alliance, or treaty with, any king, prince, or state ; nor 
shall any person holding any office of profit or trust under the 
United States, or any of them, accept of any present, emolument, 
office, or title of any kind whatever from any king, prince, or 
foreign state ; nor shall the United States in Congress assembled, 
or any of them, grant any title of nobility. 

No two or more States shall enter into any treaty, confeder¬ 
ation, or alliance whatever between them, without the consent of 
the United States in Congress assembled, specifying accurately 
the purposes for which the same is to be entered into, and how 
long it shall continue. 

No State shall lay any imposts or duties which may interfere 
with any stipulations in treaties entered into by the United States 
in Congress assembled, with any king, prince, or state, in pursu¬ 
ance of any treaties already proposed by Congress to the courts 
of France and Spain. 

No vessels of war shall be kept up in time of peace by any 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


262 

State, except such number only as shall be deemed necessary by 
the United States in Congress assembled, for the defense of such 
State or its trade ; nor shall any body of forces be kept up by any 
State in time of peace, except such number only as, in the judg¬ 
ment of the United States in Congress assembled, shall be 
deemed requisite to garrison the forts necessary for the defense 
of such State : but every State shall always keep up a well-regu¬ 
lated and disciplined militia, sufficiently armed and accoutred, 
and shall provide and constantly have ready for use in public 
stores, a due number of field-pieces and tents, and a proper 
quantity of arms, ammunition, and camp equipage. 

No State shall engage in any war without the consent of the 
United States in Congress assembled, unless such State be 
actually invaded by enemies, or shall have received certain advice 
of a resolution being formed by some nation of Indians to invade 
such a State, and the danger is so imminent as not to admit of a 
delay till the United States in Congress assembled can be con¬ 
sulted ; nor shall any State grant commissions to any ships or 
vessels of war, nor letters of marque or reprisal, except it be 
after a declaration of war by the United States in Congress 
assembled, and then only against the kingdom or state, and the 
subjects thereof, against which war has been so declared, and 
under such regulations as shall be established by the United 
States in Congress assembled, unless such State be infested by 
pirates, in which case vessels of war may be fitted out for that 
occasion, and kept so long as the danger shall continue, or until 
the United States in Congress assembled shall determine other¬ 
wise. 

Art. VII.— When land forces are raised by any State for 
the common defense, all officers of or under the rank of Colonel, 
shall be appointed by the legislature of each State respectively 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 263 

by whom such forces shall be raised, or in such manner as such 
State shall direct, and all vacancies shall be filled up by the State 
which first made the appointment. 

Art. VIII. — All charges of war, and all other expenses that 
shall be incurred for the common defense, or general welfare, and 
allowed by the United States in Congress assembled, shall be 
defrayed out of a common treasury, which shall be supplied by 
the several States in proportion to the value of all land within 
each State, granted to, or surveyed for, any person, as such land 
and the buildings and improvements thereon shall be estimated, 
according to such mode as the United States in Congress assem¬ 
bled shall from time to time direct and appoint. 

The taxes for paying that proportion shall be laid and levied 
by the authority and direction of the legislatures of the several 
States, within the time agreed upon by the United State* ?n Con¬ 
gress assembled. 

Art. IX. — The United States in Congress assembled shall 
have the sole and exclusive right and power of determining on 
peace and war, except in the cases mentioned in the sixth article ; 
of sending and receiving ambassadors; entering into treaties and 
alliances, provided that no treaty of commerce shall be made, 
whereby the legislative power of the respective States shall be 
restrained from imposing such imposts and duties on foreigners 
as their own people are subjected to, or from prohibiting the 
exportation or importation of any species of goods or commod¬ 
ities whatsoever; of establishing rules for deciding, in all cases, 
what captures on land or water shall be legal, and in what 
manner prizes taken by land or naval forces in the service of the 
United States shall be divided or appropriated ; of granting letters 
of marque and reprisal in times of peace; appointing courts for 
the trial of piracies and felonies committed on the high seas ; and 


2fi CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

establishing courts for receiving and determining finally appeals 
in all cases of captures; provided that no member of Congress 
shall be appointed a judge of any of the said courts. 

The United States in Congress assembled shall also be the 
last resort on appeal in all disputes and differences now subsist¬ 
ing, or that hereafter may arise between two or more States con¬ 
cerning boundary, jurisdiction, or any other cause whatever; 
which authority shall always be exercised in the manner follow¬ 
ing : whenever the legislative or executive authority, or lawful 
agent of any State in controversy with another, shall present a 
petition to Congress, stating the matter in question, and praying 
for a hearing, notice thereof shall be given by order of Congress 
to the legislative or executive authority of the other State in con¬ 
troversy, and a day assigned for the appearance of the parties by 
their lawful agents, who shall then be directed to appoint, by 
joint consent, commissioners or judges to constitute a court for 
hearing and determining the matter in question; but if they can¬ 
not agree, Congress shall name three persons out of each of the 
United States, and from the list of such persons each party shall 
alternately strike out one, the petitioners beginning, until the 
number shall be reduced to thirteen ; and from that number not 
less than seven nor more than nine names, as Congress shall 
direct, shall, in the presence of Congress, be drawn out by lot; 
and the persons whose names shall be so drawn, or any live of 
them, shall be commissioners or judges, to hear and finally deter¬ 
mine the controversy, so always as a major part of the judo-es 
who shall hear the cause shall agree in the determination ; and if 
either party shall neglect to attend at the day appointed, without 
showing reasons which Congress shall judge sufficient, or being 
present, shall refuse to strike, the Congress shall proceed to nom¬ 
inate three persons out of each State, and the secretary of Con- 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


265 


gress shall strike in behalf of such party absent or refusing; and 
the judgment and sentence of the court, to be appointed in the 
manner before prescribed, shall be final and conclusive; and if 
any of the parties shall refuse to submit to the authority of such 
court, or to appear or defend their claim or cause, the court shall 
nevertheless proceed to pronounce sentence or judgment, which 
shall in like manner be final and decisive; the judgment or sen¬ 
tence and other proceedings being in either case transmitted to 
Congress, and lodged among the acts of Congress for the security 
of the parties concerned; provided, that every commissioner, 
before he sits in judgment, shall take an oath, to be administered 
by one of the judges of the supreme or superior court of the State 
where the cause shall be tried, “ well and truly to hear and deter - 
mine the matter in question, according to the best of his judgment, 
icithout favor, affection, or hope of reward provided, also, that 
no State shall be deprived of territory for the benefit of the 
United States. 

All controversies concerning the private right of soil, claimed . 
under different grants of two or more States, whose jurisdictions, 
as they may respect such lands and the States which passed such 
grants, are adjusted, the said grants or either of them being at 
the same time claimed to have originated antecedent to such 
settlement of jurisdiction, shall, on the petition of either party to 
the Congress of the United States, be finally determined, as near 
as may be, in the same manner as is before prescribed for decid¬ 
ing disputes respecting territorial jurisdiction between different 
States. 

The United States in Congress assembled shall also have the 
sole and exclusive right and power of regulating the alloy and 
value of coin struck by their own authority, or by that of the 
respective States; fixing the standard of weights and measures 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


2GG 


throughout the United States ; regulating the trade and managing 
all affairs with the Indians, not members of any of the States; 
provided that the legislative right of any State, within its own 
limits, be not infringed or violated; establishing and regulating 
post-offices from one State to another, throughout all the United 
States, and exacting such postage on the papers passing through 
the same as may be requisite to defray the expenses of the said 
office; appointing all officers of the land forces in the service of 
the United States, excepting regimental officers ; appointing all 
the officers of the naval forces, and commissioning all officers 
whatever in the service of the United States ; making rules for the 
government and regulation of the said land and naval forces, and 
directing their operations. 

The United States in Congress assembled shall have author¬ 
ity to appoint a committee, to sit in the recess of Congress, to be 
denominated u A Committee of the States,” and to consist of one 
delegate from each State, and to appoint such other committees 
and civil' officers as may be necessary for managing the general 
affairs of the United States under their direction; to appoint one 
of their number to preside, provided that no person be allowed 
to serve in the office of president more than one year in any term 
of three years ; to ascertain the necessary sums of money to be 
raised for the service of the United States, and to appropriate 
and apply the same for defraying the public expenses; to borrow 
money or emit bills on the credit of the United States, trans¬ 
mitting every half-year to the respective States an account of the 
sums of money so borrowed or emitted; to build and equip a 
navy; to agree upon the number of land forces, and to make 
requisitions from each State for its quota, in proportion to the 
number of white inhabitants in such State, which requisition shall 
be binding; and thereupon the legislature of each State shall 



CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


207 


appoint the regimental officers, raise the men, and clothe, arm, 
and equip them in a soldier-like manner, at the expense of the 
United States ; and the officers and men so clothed, armed, and 
equipped shall march to the place appointed, and within the time 
agreed on by the United States in Congress assembled; but if the 
Cftiieu States in Congress assembled shall, on consideration of 
circumstances, judge proper that any State should not raise men, 
or should raise a sm&JjSr number than its quota, and that any 
other State should raise a greater number of men than the quota 
thereof, such extra number shall be raised, officered, clothed, 
armed, and equipped in the same manner as the quota of such 
State, unless the legislature of such State shall judge that such 
extra number cannot be safely spared out of the same, in which 
case they shall raise, officer, clothe, arm, and equip as many of 
such extra number as they judge can be safely spared, and the 
officers and men so clothed, armed, and equipped shall march to 
the place appointed, and within the time agreed on by the United 
States in Congress assembled. 

The United States in Congress assembled shall never engage 
in a war, nor grant letters of marque and reprisal in time of 
peace, nor enter into any treaties or alliances, nor coin money, ' 
nor regulate the value thereof, nor ascertain the sums and 
expenses necessary for the defense and welfare of the United 
States, or any of them, nor emit bills, nor borrow money on the 
credit of the United States, nor appropriate money, nor agree 
upon the number of vessels of war to be built or purchased, or 
the number of land or sea forces to be raised, nor appoint a com¬ 
mander-in-chief of the army or navy, unless nine States assent to 
the same, nor shall a question on any other point, except for 
adjourning from day to day, be determined, unless by the votes 
of a majority of the United States in Congress assembled, 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


268 


The Congress of the United States shall have power to ad¬ 
journ to any time within the year, and to any place within the 
United States, so that no period of adjournment be for a longer 
duration than the space of six months, and shall publish the 
journal of their proceedings monthly, except such parts thereof 
relating to treaties, alliances, or military operations as in their 
judgment require secrecy ; and the yeas and nays of the delegates 
of each State, on any question, shall be entered on the journal 
when it is desired by any delegate ; -and the delegates of a State, 
or any of them, at his or their request, shall be furnished with a 
transcript of the said journal except such parts as are above 
excepted, to lay before the legislatures of the several States. 

Art. X.— The Committee of the States, or any nine of them, 
shall be authorized to execute, in the recess of Congress, such of 
the powers of Congress as the United States in Congress assem¬ 
bled, by the consent of nine States, shall, from time to time, 
think expedient to vest them with; provided that no power be 
delegated to the said Committee, for the exercise of which, by the 
Articles of Confederation, the voice of nine States in the Congress 
of the United States assembled is requisite. 

Art. XI.—Canada, acceding to this Confederation, and 
joining in the measures of the United States, shall be admitted 
into, and entitled to all the advantages of this Union; but no 
other colony shall be admitted into the same, unless such admis¬ 
sion be agreed to by nine States. 

Art. XII.— All bills of credit emitted, moneys borrowed, 
and debts contracted by or under the authority of Congress, 
before the assembling of the United States, in pursuance of the 
present Confederation, shall be deemed and considered as a 
charge against the United States, for payment and satisfaction 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


269 


whereof the said United States and the public faith are hereby 
solemnly pledged. 

Art. XIII.— Every State shall abide by the determinations 
of the United States in Congress assembled, on all questions 
which by this Confederation are submitted to them. And the 
articles of this Confederation shall be inviolably observed by 
every State, and the Union shall be perpetual; nor shall any 
alteration at any time hereafter be made in any of them, un¬ 
less such alteration be agreed to in a Congress of the United 
States, and be afterwards confirmed by the legislatures of every 
State. 

And Whereas, it hath pleased the great Governor of the 
world to incline the hearts of the legislatures we respectively 
represent in Congress to approve of, and to authorize us to ratify, 
the said Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union, know ye, 
that we, the undersigned delegates, by virtue of the power and 
authority to us given for that purpose, do, by these presents, in 
the name and in behalf of our respective constituents, fully and 
entirely ratify and confirm each and every of the said Articles of 
Confederation and perpetual Union, and all and singular the 
matters and things therein contained. And we do further 
solemnly plight and engage the faith of our respective constitu¬ 
ents, that they shall abide by the determinations of the United 
States in Congress assembled, on all questions which by the said 
Confederation are submitted to them ; and that the articles thereof 
shall be inviolably observed by the States we respectively repre¬ 
sent, and that the Union shall be perpetual. 

In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands in Con¬ 
gress. Done at Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania, 
the ninth day of July, in the year of our Lord one thousand 


270 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


seven hundred and seventy-eight, and in the third year of 
the independence of America. 

On the part and helialf of the State of New Hampshire. 
Josiah Bartlett, John Wentworth, Jr. 

August 8, 1778. 

On the part and behalf of the State of Massachusetts Bay. 

John Hancock, Francis Dana, 

Samuel Adams, James Lovell, 

Elbridge Gerry, Samuel Holten. 

On the part and behalf of the State of Rhode Island and Providence 

Plantations. 

William Ellery, John Collins. 

Henry Marchant, , 

On the part and behalf of the State of Connecticut. 

Roger Sherman, Titus Hosmer, 

Samuel Huntington, Andrew Adams. 

Oliver Wolcott, 

On the part and behalf of the State of New York. 

James Duane, William Duer, 

Francis Lewis, Gouverneur Morris. 

On the part and in behalf of the State of New Jersey , 

Novr. 26 , 1778. 

John Witherspoon, Nathaniel Scudder. 

On the part and behalf of the State of Pennsylvania. 
Robert Morris, William Clingan, 

Daniel Roberdeatj, Joseph Reed, 

Jonathan Bayard Smith, 22d July, 1778. 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


On the part and behalf of the State of Delaware . 
Thomas M’Kean, John Dickinson, 

Feby. 12, 1779. * May 5, 1779, 

Nicholas Vandyke. 

On the part and behalf of the State of Maryland. 
John Hanson, Daniel Carroll 

March 1, 1781, March 1, 1781. 

On the part and behalf of the State of Virginia. 
Richard Henry Lee, John Haryie, 

John Banister, Francis Lightfoot Lee. 

Thomas Adams, 

On the part and behalf of the State of North Carolina. 
John Penn, Cornelius Hartnett. 

July 21, 1778. John Williams. 

On the part and behalf of the State of South Carolina, 
Henry Laurens, Richard Hutson, 

William Henry Drayton, Thomas Hayward, Jr. 

John Mathews, 

On the part and behalf of the State of Georgia. 
.John Walton, Edward Telfair, 

24th July, 1778. Edward Lang worthy. 


NATURALIZATION 


All matters concerning the naturalization of aliens were placed 
in charge of the Department of Commerce and Labor by a 
law passed by Congress and approved June 29,1906. Later, 
when Commerce and Labor became two distinct departments, 
the Secretary of Labor was given charge of Naturalization. 

The jurisdiction for the naturalization of aliens is given to 
United States circuit and district courts, the Supreme Court 
of the District of Columbia; also to all state and territorial 
courts of record having a seal, a clerk, and jurisdiction in 
actions in which the amount in controversy is unlimited. 
The alien must reside in the judicial district in which he makes 
the application. 

No alien can become a citizen until he has resided at least 
five years in the United States. Two years, at least, prior to 
his admission he may file with the court a declaration that he 
intends to become a citizen of the United States. In this 
declaration he renounces all allegiance to any foreign state and 
declares that he is not an anarchist nor a believer in polygamy. 

Not less than two years, nor more than seven, after filing the 
declaration, he may file a petition to become a citizen. In this 
petition he renounces all allegiance to any foreign power, de¬ 
clares his intention to reside in the United States and his 
attachment to the Constitution, and states that he can speak 
the English language, is not a disbeliever in organized govern¬ 
ment, and does not believe in nor practice polygamy. Both 
the declaration and the petition are sworn to by the applicant. 

If the applicant has borne any hereditary title, this must 
be renounced in the application. 

272 


NATURALIZATION 


273 


Filed with the petition is the affidavit of two reputable wit¬ 
nesses, citizens of the United States, testifying as to the time 
of residence and moral character of the applicant. 

The total cost to the applicant in fees paid to the court is 
five dollars. 

Blank petitions are furnished by the Department of Com¬ 
merce and Labor to the courts. On the approval of the peti¬ 
tion a certificate of citizenship is issued. To forge or counter¬ 
feit this certificate is a felony. 

If the alien so naturalized, within five years after the issuance 
of his certificate shall go to any foreign country and take per¬ 
manent residence therein, the certificate of naturalization may 
be cancelled, and the holder thereof will become an alien again. 


Form 2214 

FOR USE OF ALIENS WHO ARRIVED BEFORE JUNE 29, 1906 

FACTS FOR PETITION FOR NATURALIZATION 

Department of Labor 

NATURALIZATION SERVICE 

Washington 

Note to Clerk of Court. — On and after June 29, 1911, clerks of courts 
should refuse to execute petitions for aliens who have arrived in the United 
States after June 29, 1906, until the certificate of arrival is furnished the clerk 
after request of the alien on Form 2226. 

Note. — A copy of this form (Form 2214) should be furnished by the clerk 
of the court to each applicant for a petition for naturalization who arrived in 
this country on or before June 29, 1906, so that he can at his leisure fill in the 
answers to the questions. After being filled out the form is to be returned to 
the clerk, to be used by him in properly filling out the petition. Witnesses 
must be citizens of the United States. If any witness is a naturalized citizen 
he must bring his certificate of citizenship to the court when the petition is filed. 

To the Applicant. — The fee of four dollars must be paid to the clerk of 
the court before he commences to fill out the petition-for naturalization. No 
fee is chargeable for this blank. 


(Give here name used in Declaration of Intention and do not abbreviate any part of name by 
initial or otherwise.) 

1. My place of residence is: . } 

(Number and name of street.) 


(State, Territory, or District.) 


(City or town.) 

2. My occupation is: . 

3. I was born on the . day of ., 18 


at ., ., and my last foreign 

(City or town.) (Country.) 

residence was .... 

. 274 


(City or town.) 


(Country.) 












CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


275 


4- I emigrated to the United States from ., . 

(Port of embarkation.) (Country.) 

on or about the . day of . 1 . 

and arrived at the port of ., ., on the ... 

(Port of arrival.) (State.) 

day of .. 1 .. on the vessel . 


(If the alien arrived otherwise than by vessel, the character of conveyance or name of transpor¬ 
tation company should be given.) 

5. I declared my intention to become a citizen of the United States on the . 

day of ., 1 ., at . 

(Location of court.) 

in the .,., Court of . 

6. I am . married. My hu ^ij^ s name u f s s . 

(Petitioner, if a widower, should give the name of his wife when living, and state place of her 
birth; if not married, he should enter “not” in first sentence. In both cases surplus words 
should be struck through.) 

S J[g was born in .. . 

(City or town.) (Country.) 

7 is now deceased 

ana now resides at .> . 

(City or town.) (Country.) 

I have . child ., whose name ., date . and place 

. of birth , and place . of residence are as follows: 


, born ... 


. ,1. 

. . . , at . . . . 


, born . . , 

... .day of . 

., 1. 

..., at.... 


, born .. 

... .day of . 

. ,1. 

..., at.... 

...; resides at 

, born .. 

... .day of . 

. ,1- 

..., at.... 


, born .., 

... .day of . 

., 1. 

..., at. .., 


, born .., 

... .day of . 

., 1. 

...,at... 

... .; resides at 

, born .., 

_ day of . 

. ,1. 

..., at., 



7 . 


I am not a disbeliever in or opposed to organized government or a member of 
or affiliated with any organization or body of persons teaching disbelief in 
organized government. I am not a polygamist nor a believer in the practice 
of polygamy. I am attached to the principles of the Constitution of the 
United States , and it is my intention to become a citizen of the United States 
and to renounce absolutely and forever all allegiance and fidelity to any 
foreign prince } potentate , state , or sovereignty, and particularly to . 


, of whom at this time 


(Name.) 


(Title and country.) 



































































276 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


I am a ^feci an ^ ^ intention to reside permanently in the 

United States. 

8. I am . able to speak the English language. 

9. I have resided continuously in the United States since the .■. 

State 

day of .. 1 .. and m the Territory 

District 

of . since the . day of .. 

1 ., 

10. I have . heretofore made petition for United States citizenship. 

If petitioner has heretofore made application for citizenship, the facts 
required should be fully stated in the following blanks: 

I petition for citizenship to the . Court at 

.. . , on the . 

(City or town.) (State, Territory, or District.) 

day of ... ., 1 ., which was denied for the following 

reasons: . 


The cause of such denial has since been cured or removed. 


Give names, occupations, and residence addresses of two witnesses, citizens of the United 
States, who have known you for at least five years, last past, as a resident of the State in which 
petition is made, who will make affidavit that you are a person of good moral character, that 
you are qualified in every way to be admitted a citizen of the United States, and who will be 
present at hearing. If you have been a resident of the State wherein you apply for citizenship 
for over one year, and elsewhere in the United States sufficiently long to complete a continuous 
residence therein of five years, you may establish your entire residence within the State by two 
witnesses, citizens of the United States, and your residence elsewhere in the United States by 
depositions of two witnesses, as provided in Section 10 of the Naturalization Act of June 29, 1906. 
The witnesses named by you to establish your residence within the State must appear with you 
on the day you petition to the clerk of court and be sworn as witnesses at the time. 


. ■> 

(Name.) 


(Occupation.) 


(Residence address.) 


. . .> . 

(Name.) (Occupation.) (Residence address.) 

Name of witnesses who will be substituted by me if those appearing with me at the time 
of filing my petition for naturalization are unable to appear at the time of the hearing. 
























CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


277 


(Name.) 


(Occupation.) 


(Residence address.) 


. y .> . 

(Name.) (Occupation.) (Residence address.) 

I herewith present my Declaration of Intention to become a Citizen of the 
United States. 


FACTS FOR DECLARATION OF INTENTION 
Department of Labor 

NATURALIZATION SERVICE 

Note. — A copy of this form should be furnished by the clerk of the court 
to each applicant for a declaration of intention, so that he can at his leisure 
fill in the answers to the questions. After being filled out the form is to be 
returned to the clerk, to be used by him in properly filling out the declaration. 
If the applicant landed on or after June 29 , 1906 , his declaration should .not 
be filed until the name of the vessel is definitely given (or the name of the rail¬ 
road and border port in the United States through which the alien entered), 
as well as the date of arrival. 

To the Applicant. — The fee of one dollar must be paid to the clerk of the 
court before he commences to fill out the declaration of intention. No fee is 
chargeable for this blank. 

Name: . Age: . years. 

(Do not abbreviate any part of name by initial or otherwise.) (Give age at last birthday.) 

Occupation: . 

Color: . Complexion: . 

Height: . feet . inches. Weight: . pounds. 

Color of hair: . Color of eyes: . 

Other visible distinctive marks: . 

(If no visible distinctive marks so state.) 


Where born: 


(City or town.) 


(Country.) 




















278 


CIVICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


Da‘e of birth: .,.,.-. 

(Month.) (Day.) (Year.) 

Present Residence: .,.,. 

(Number and street.) (City or town.) (State, Territory, or District.) 

Emigrated from: .,. 

(Port of embarkation.) (Country.) 

Name of vessel . 

(If the applicant arrived otherwise than by vessel, the character of conveyance or name of 
transportation company should be given.) 

Last place of foreign residence: .,. 

(City or town.) (Country.) 

I am now a subject of and intend to renounce allegiance to * . 


(Title.) 

Date of arrival in United States-: 


(Month.) 


(Day.) 


(Year.) 


Port of arrival: .'., . 

(City or town.) (State or Territory.) 

* Note. — If applicant is a citizen of a foreign Republic he should fill in the following line in 
lieu of the above, writing the name of the Republic only. 

I am now a citizen of and intend to renounce allegiance to the Republic of . 













GLOSSARY 


Admiralty. That branch of law which deals with maritime cases and 
offences. (Admiralty Court.) 

Affidavit. A written declaration upon oath; a statement of facts in 
writing signed by the person making the affidavit* and sworn to or 
confirmed by a declaration before an authorized officer, such, foi 
instance, as a notary public or a commissioner of deeds. 

Alien. A foreigner; one born in or belonging to another country who 
has not acquired citizenship by naturalization. 

Ambassador. A diplomatic agent of the highest rank, employed to 
represent officially one prince or state at the court or to the govern¬ 
ment of another. 

Arrest of Judgment. The staying or stopping of a judgment after 
verdict, for causes assigned. Courts have at common law power to 
arrest judgment for intrinsic causes appearing upon the face of the 
record, as when the declaration varies from the original writ, when 
the verdict differs materially from the pleading, or when the case 
laid in the declaration is not sufficient to found an action upon. 

Articles of Confederation. The compact or constitution adopted by 
the Continental Congress in 1777 , and ratified by the separate colonies 
within the four years next succeeding. On March 4 , 1789 , it expired 
by limitation under the provisions of the present Constitution. 

Attainder, Bill of. A bill passed by Parliament for the attaint of any 
person. By this process condemnation to death could be secured in 
a brief manner and without the production of evidence. 

Bankruptcy Law. The United States bankruptcy law now in force 
went into effect July 1 , 1898 . 


1 


n 


GLOSSARY 


Bill of Credit. Paper issued by the authority and on the faith of a 
nation to be circulated as money. The Constitution provides (Article 
I., Section io) that no State shall emit bills of credit, or make anything 
but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts. 

Caveat. According to United States patent laws, a caveat is a descrip¬ 
tion of some invention, designed to be patented, lodged in the patent 
office before the patent is applied for. This operates as a bar to the 
issue of letters patent to any other person respecting the same in¬ 
vention. A caveat is good for one year, but may be renewed. 

Charter. In colonial days the crown granted certain rights and privileges 
to an individual or a group of colonists. As this was written it was 
called a charter, from the Latin chartula, meaning a little writing. 
In American law a charter is a written instrument from the sovereign 
power to a municipality or other corporation conferring certain rights 
and privileges. For instance, the city of New York has a charter 
from the State government at Albany; Chicago, one from her State 
government at Springfield, and San Francisco, one from Sacremento. 
The State also grants charters to insurance companies, railroad, bank, 
dry goods and other corporations. 

Copyright. Corresponds to the patent of an invention, and is a right 
given by law to the writer of a book, play, or musical composition, 
or to the originator of maps, charts, or engravings, or to his assignee. 
In the United States the term is twenty-eight years, with the privilege 
of renewal for twenty-eight years. 

Commission. A written certificate signed by the executive or other proper 
official, appointing some person to office or conferring an authority 
to the holder thereof. 

Commission, Government by. See Galveston. 

Consul. A commercial agent of the government, appointed by the 
President and confirmed by the Senate, residing in a foreign country 
to look after the commercial rights and privileges of this country 
and its individual citizens resident in the same country with him. 


GLOSSARY 


hi 


Continental Congress. The term “continental” was used in contra¬ 
distinction to “provincial,” the former indicating the general assembly 
in which all the States of the Union were represented by delegates 
during the Revolution, the latter referring to the legislative body of 
a state, colony, or province. 

Embargo. An order of the government prohibiting the sailing of ships 
of commerce from any or all of its ports. 

Exequator. A written official recognition of a consul or commercial 
agent issued by the government to which he is accredited and author¬ 
izing him to exercise his powers. 

Galveston Plan of Government. Municipal government by commis¬ 
sion, adopted in Galveston in 1901 . The commission consists at this 
time of four commissioners elected by all the people of the city. Each 
member acts as the head of a department, the president acting as 
the head of the police and fire departments, the other departments 
being assigned to the other commissioners by vote of the majority 
of the board. The plan is being tried in Houston, Fort Worth, 
Dallas, El Paso, and Austin, Texas; in Kansas and South Dakota, 
and Des Moines, and Cedar Rapids, Iowa. 

Gerrymander. So called from Elbridge Gerry, Governor of Massachu¬ 
setts in 1812 . For purposes of election a State is divided into dis¬ 
tricts corresponding to the number of representatives the State is 
entitled to send to Congress. These districts are sometimes made 
out by the legislature so as to secure the greatest number of them to 
the party which lays out the districts. In 1812 the Massachusetts 
Legislature, having a Federalist minority, redistributed the districts, 
so that a* district in Essex County resembled a dragon in shape. Gil¬ 
bert Stuart, the painter, seeing a map of this district and noting its 
contour, added a head, wings, and claws, saying, “That will do for 
a salamander.” “Better say a Gerrymander!” retorted a Federalist 
standing near. 

Initiative. The right by which a certain number of voters may petition 
the law-making body for a law. Under the initiative the law-making 


IV 


GLOSSARY 


body must thereupon frame and pass the desired law. The initiative 
and referendum are borrowed from Switzerland. Both are incor¬ 
porated in the Constitution of South Dakota. 

Injunction in Law. A judicial process or order requiring the person to 
whom it is directed to do or refrain from doing a particular thing. 

Interned. Confined within fixed or prescribed limits; compelled to 
remain in a locality without permission to leave it. 

Ipso Facto. By the fact itself. 

Jurisprudence. The science of law. 

Legal Tender. Currency which can lawfully be used in paying a debt. 

Magna Charta. The great charter of the liberties of England, signed 
and sealed by King John of Lackland, in a conference between him 
and his barons at Runnymede on the Thames, June 15 , 1215 . Its 
most important articles are those which provide that no freeman shall 
be taken, or imprisoned, or proceeded against, except by the lawful 
judgment of his peers or in accordance with the laws of the land, 
and that no scrutage or aid shall be imposed on the kingdom (except 
certain feudal dues from tenants of the crown) unless by the common 
council of the kingdom. The remaining and greater part of the 
charter is directed against abuses of the king’s power as feudal superior. 
Some of its provisions constitute the Bill of Rights set forth in our 
federal and state constitutions. 

Mandamus (we command). A writ issuing from the superior court, 
directed to an inferior court, an officer, a corporation, or other body, 
requiring the person or persons addressed to do some act therein 
specified, as being within their office and duty, as to admit or restore 
a person to an office or franchise, or to deliver papers, affix a seal to 
a paper, etc. 

Ordinance of 1787 . Adopted by the Continental Congress, then in ses¬ 
sion in New York City, July 13 , 1787 , the full title of the act being: 


GLOSSARY 


v 


“An ordinance for the government of the territory of the United 
States northwest of the Ohio River.” The territory included the 
present States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. 
The ordinance prohibited slavery, provided for the eventual admission 
of portions of the territory as States of the Union and established a 
territorial government, which has ever since been used as a model in 
the organization of new territories. 

Parliament, English. Composed of House of Lords and House of 
Commons. The House of Lords consists of 4 princes of the blood, 
2 archbishops, 24 bishops, 516 English Peers, 16 Scotch Representa¬ 
tive Peers, and 28 Irish Representative Peers. Total, 590. Com¬ 
position of the House of Commons: England has 465 seats; Wales, 
30 seats; Scotland, 72 seats; Ireland, 103 .seats. Total, 670 members. 

Plaintiff. The person who brings a suit before a tribunal for the recovery 
of a claim: opposed to defendant. 

Plurality of Votes. The number by which the votes cast for the 
candidate who receives the greatest number exceed the votes cast for 
the candidate who receives the next greatest number, when there are 
more than two candidates and no one candidate receives a majority of 
votes 

Posse Comitatus. The power of the county. The body of men which 
the sheriff is empowered to call into service to aid him in the execution 
of the law, as in case of rescue, riot, etc. It includes all male persons 
above the age of fifteen. 

Prima Facie. At first appearance. 

Primary. An assembly of a section of a political party, generally for the 
purpose of naming delegates to a convention, or nominating candidates 
to be voted for at the regular elections. In some states a primary is 
called a caucus. In New York State there is a Primary Law providing 
that some cities and towns must, and many others may, permit those 
voters who wish, to enroll as members of one political party, and only 
voters so enrolled may take part in primaries held during the ensuing 
year by such political party, 


VI 


GLOSSARY 


Primogeniture. Norman law of descent to the eldest son. The prin¬ 
ciple by which the oldest son of a family succeeds to the father’s real 
estate in preference to, and to the absolute exclusion of, the younger 
sons and daughters. 

Provincial Congress. In 1774 the English Parliament appointed Gen¬ 
eral Gage military governor of Massachusetts. The colonists ignored 
Gage, and the townships elected delegates to meet in a Provincial 
Congress. The president of the Congress was the chief executive 
officer of the commonwealth, and there was a small executive council 
known as, “The Committee of Safety.” 

Quorum. The number of members of any constituted body of persons 
whose presence at or participation in a meeting is required to render 
its proceedings valid, or to enable it to transact business legally. 

Recall, The. When this provision is inserted in a city charter, it gives 
the voters the privilege of calling an election to oust an official from 
office. In Los Angeles, where the recall obtains, the election is 
called after 25 per cent of the voters have petitioned the Council for 
it. Mayor Harper of this city (1909) was the first official to face the 
recall. When the excitement over the recall election was at its height, 
Mayor Harper withdrew his name from the ballot and resigned his 
office. Des Moines, Iowa, and Berkeley, California, have the power 
of recall, and it is proposed in the new charter for Chicago. 

Records of a Court. The formal, written reports of the proceedings 
of the Court drawn up by the regular officers of the same. 

Referendum. The right to approve or reject by popular vote a measure 
passed upon by a legislature. 

Representative Government. A government conducted by persons 
chosen by the people governed. 

Solvent. Able to pay all just debts. 

Statute. An ordinance or law; specifically, a law promulgated in writ¬ 
ing by a legislative body; an enactment by a legislature. 


GLOSSARY 


VII 


Statute of Limitations. A law which limits the time within which an 
action may be brought. 

Tort. A wrong, such as the law requires compensation for in damages. 

Viva Voce. Orally. 

Warrant. In law a written authorization bv a magistrate to an officer 
to make an arrest, a seizure, or a search, or do other acts incidental 
to the administration of justice. 
























































































































































































































INDEX 

(Also consult the Glossary) 


Abolition of Slavery, 116 
Adams, John, 68, 69 
Adams, John Quincy, 70 
Admiralty, 87 

Agriculture, Secretary of, 72, 76 
Agricultural Stations, 44 
Alliance, 63 
Ambassadors, 51, 86 
Amendments, 99 
Amnesty, 77 
Archbald, Judge, 26 
Armories, 55 
Army, Regular, 53, 55 
Army, The, 52, 53 
Arsenals, 56 
Arthur, Chester A., 72 
Articles of Confederation, 12, 13, 
48, 61, 100, 258 
Attainder, 92 
Attainder, Bill of, 60, 63 
Attorney-General, 72, 75 

Bail, 111 

Bank, United States, 42, 87 
Bankruptcy, 46, 47 
Beacons, 53 
Belknap, W. H., 26 
Bell, William Graham, 50 
Bill of Attainder, 60, 63 
Bill of Rights, 103 
Bills of Credit, 63 
Blount, William, 26 
Bonds, 45 


Breach of the Peace, 37 
Brooks, Preston S., 35 
Buoys, 53 

Bureau, Weather, 44 
Burgesses, House of, 90 
Burr, Aaron, 69, 87 
Butler, Benjamin F., 91 

Cabinet, The, 72, 74, 75 
California, 45, 88 
Canada, 98 
Capital Crime, 107 
Capitation Tax, 60 
Carson City, 47 
Census, The, 22, 60, 76 
Chaplain, House, 24, 25; Senate, 
29 

Chase, Samuel, 26 
Chase, Salmon P., 30 
Chicago, 98 
Chief Justice, 30 
Church Members, 8 
Church Qualifications, 9 
Circuit Court, 83, 89 
Circuit Court of Appeals, 84 
Citizen, 21, 46 

Citizenship, Qualifications of, 21 
Civil Rights Bill, 41 
Civil Service, 78 
Civil War, 33, 53, 59 
Civil War, Debts of, 118 
Clerk of Supreme Court, 85 
Clerk, House, 24; Senate, 29 

IX 


X 


INDEX 


Cleveland, Grover, 41, 98 
Colorado; 93, 94 
Commander-in-Chief, 31, 74 
Commerce, Secretary of, 72, 76 
Commerce, Foreign, 45 
Commission, Eight-to-Seven, 71 
Committees of the House, 35 
Common Defence, 44 
Common Law, 11 
Common People, 8 
Confederation, 63 
Confederation, Articles of, 12, 13, 
48, 61, 100, 258 

Congress, Continental, 12, 13, 16, 
44, 100 

Congress, The, 43, 44 
Congressional Library, 62 
Congressional Record, 25, 36 
Connecticut, 9, 14, 17, 22 
Constitutional Convention, 16, 65, 
102 

Constitution, Ratification of, 16 
Constitution, a Compact, 113 
Consuls, 51, 86 

Continental Congress, 12, 13, 16, 
44, 100 

Continental Money, 48 
Contracts, Obligation of, 63, 64 
Convention, Constitutional, 16, 65, 
102 

Copyright, 49 

Cotton Gin, 50 

Counterfeiting, 48 

Court, Circuit, 83, 89 

Court, District, 89 

Court-Martial, 30, 31, 54, 108 

Court Officers, 85 

Court of Appeals, 132 

Court of Claims, 83 

Court of Last Resort, 89 

Court of Private Land Claims, 84 


Court of the Ordinary, 132 
Court of Spanish War Claims, 84 
Court, Supreme, 43, 58, 63, 64, 71, 
75, 83, 84, 87, 88, 89, 101 
Courts of the District of Columbia, 
84 

Credit, Bills of, 63 

Credit of the United States, 100 

Crimea, 88 

Crime, Capital, 107 

Crime, Infamous, 107 

Cruel Punishments, 111 

Currency, 18 


Dallas, Alexander J., 86 
Dartmouth College, 64, 101 
Debts of the Civil War, 118 
Decatur, Captain, 91 
Delaware, 22, 27, 120 
Dewey, George, Admiral, 74 
Dingley Bill, 39 
Diplomatic Intercourse, 65 
Direct Taxes, 23 
District Attorney, 85, 107 
District Court, 89 
District of Columbia, 56 
Dock Yards, 56 

Doorkeeper, House, 24,25; Senate, 
29 

Drafted Men, 53 
Dred Scott, 43, 89 
Duties, 44 

Duty of Tonnage, 65 

Edison, Thomas A., 50 
Eight-to-Seven Commission, 71 
Election of 1876, 70 
Electoral College, 68 
Electors, 20, 67, 70, 71 
Emancipation Proclamation, 75 


INDEX 


XI 


Embargo Act, 57 

Eminent Domain, Right of, 108 

Emperor of France, 80 

England, 20, 31, 45, 57 

Equity, 113, 114 

Erie Canal, 112 

Excises, 44 

Executive Power, 66 

Export Tax, 61 

Ex Post Facto Law, 60, 63 

Extra Sessions, 80 


Fact, 89 

Federalist Party, 69 
Federalist, The, 92, 103 
Felony, 37, 94 
Fillmore, Millard, 72 
Florida, 70 
Food Products, 64 
Forts, 56 
France, 44, 57 
Free Trade, 61 
French Loan, 44 


Garfield, James A., 72 
General Welfare, 44 
Georgia, 8, 20, 22 
Gerard, 12 

Goodyear, Charles, 50 
Government Lands, 96 
Grand Jury, 25, 107 
Grant, U. S., 73 


Habeas Corpus, 59 
Hamilton, Alexander, 100, 103 
Harrison, William H., 72 
Hayes, Rutherford B., 70, 71 
Henry, Patrick, 12, 90 
Hertz, Henry, 88 


High Seas, 51, 90 
Hornet, 91 

House, Committees of the, 85 
House of Burgesses, 90 
Howe, Elias, 50 
Hull, General W., 31, 77 
Humphreys, West H., 26 

Illinois, 98 

Impeachment, 25, 26, 30, 38, 81 
Imports, 64 
Imposts, 44 
Income Tax, 43, 120 
Indians, 45, 46 
India Rubber, 50 
Indictments, 107, 110 
Indirect Taxes, 23 
Infamous Crime, 107 
Inheritance Tax, 127 
Inspection of Food Products, 64 
International Law, 50 
Interior, Secretary of, 72, 76 
Interstate Commerce Commission, 
45 

Jackson, Andrew, 41, 42, 59 
Jay, John, 86, 103 
Jay’s Treaty, 45 
Jefferson, Thomas, 69 
Jeopardy of Life or Limb, 108 
Johnson, Andrew, 26, 30, 41, 72, 
77 

Johnson, Richard M., 70 
Judicial District, 83 
Judges, Appointment of, 84 
Judgment, 94 
Jurisdiction, Appellate, 88 
Jurisdiction, Original, 88 
Jury, Grand, 25, 107 
Jury, Petit, 25, 107 
Jury, Trial, 89, 111 


XII 


INDEX 


Labor, Secretary of, 72, 76 
Law and Fact, 89 
Law, International, 50 
Law, Martial, 59 
Law of Succession to Presidency, 
72 

League of States, 12 
Lee, General Charles, 31 
Legislative Function, 19 
Letters of Marque and Reprisal, 
52, 63 

Librarian of Congress, 50 
Lighthouses, 18, 53 
Lightships, 53 

Lincoln, Abraham, 59, 72, 75, 77 
Loan, French, 44 
Long, John D., 74 
Louisiana, 44, 70 

Macedonian, 91 
Madison, James, 77, 92, 103 
Magazines, 56 
Mails, 49 

Maritime Jurisdiction, 87 
Marque and Reprisal, 52, 63 
Marshals, 85 
Maryland, 22, 56, 

Massachusetts, 8, 9, 14, 20, 22, 60, 
Maximilian, 80 
Mayor, 145 

McKinley, William, 72, 74 
McKinley Bill, 39 
Metric System, 48 
Mexican War, 74 
Mexico, 80 

Militia, 54, 55, 65, 105 
Ministers, 86 
Mints, 47 

Mississippi River, 44 
Missouri, 63 

Missouri Compromise, 40, 43 


Money, Coining of, 47 
Money, Paper, 56 
Monmouth, Battle of, 31 
Monroe Doctrine, 79 
Monroe, James, 79 
Morse, S. F. B., 50 
Mortgage, 114 
Mumford, William B., 91 

Naturalization, 46, 272-278 
Navigation Act, 10 
Navy, Secretary of the, 72,75 
Navy, The, 53 
Neutrals, 57 

New Hampshire, 14, 22, 64, 96, 
New Jersey, 8, 9, 14, 15, 22, 61, 94, 

101 

New Orleans, 47, 59, 91 
New York, 14, 15, 17, 22, 27, 45, 
61, 93, 94, 96, 112 
Nobility, Titles of, 62, 63 
North Carolina, 16, 22 
Northwest Territory, 96 
Nueces River, 74 

Obligation of Contracts, 63, 64 
Ohio, 49 

Ordinance of 1787, 96 

Pardoning Power, 77 
Parliament, 10, 105 
Parliamentary Law, 34 
Patents, 49 
Patrick Henry, 12, 90 
Pay of Senators and Representa¬ 
tives, 37 

Peck, James H., 26 
Pennsylvania, 14, 17, 22, 55 
Pennsylvania, Eastern District of, 
88 

Perry, Commodore, 51 


INDEX 


XIII 


Petit Jury, 25, 107 
Philadelphia, 13, 47 
Pickering, John, 26 
Piracy, 59 
Pocket-Veto, 41 
Polk, James K., 74 
Poll Tax, 60 
Posse Comitatus, 135 
Postmaster-General, 72, 75 
Postmaster, House, 24, 25; Senate, 
29 

Post Office, 18, 49 
Potomac, 49 

Powers denied the States, 63 
Powers reserved to the States, 112 
Press, Free, 104 
Presentments, 107 
Presidency, Law of Succession to, 
72 

Presidency, Requirements for, 71 
President, 31, 66-68, 74 
President’s Message, 79 
Princeton, 13 
Privateers, 52, 64 
Prize Money, 52 
Protection of Accused, 109 
Providence Plantations, 22 
Punishments, Cruel, 111 

Quartering Act, 10, 105 

Religion, Free, 104 
Reporter of Supreme Court, 85, 86 
Reporter of Debates, House, 24, 25: 
Senate, 29 

Representation, Ratio of, 22 
Representatives, House of, 19, 20, 
22, 23 

Republican Party, 69 
Requirements for the Presidency, 

71 


Requisition Papers, 95 
Revolution, American, 11, 14, 31, 
44, 48, 65 

Rhode Island, 16, 22 
Right of Eminent Domain, 108 
Rio Grande, 74 
Roosevelt, Theodore, 72 

San Francisco, 47 
Search Warrant, 106 
Seas, High, 51, 90 
Secret Service, The, 48 
Senate, 19, 32 

Senators, Manner of Electing, 32 
Sergeant-at-Arms, House, 24, 25; 

Senate, 29 
Service, Civil, 78 
Session, Special, 33 
Sewing Machine, 50 
Shay’s Rebellion, 14, 17 
Slaves, 23, 58 
Slaves, Importation of, 59 
Slavery, 95, 99 
Slavery, Abolition of, 116 
Smith, John, 8 
South Carolina, 22, 35 
Spain, 20, 45 
Spanish War, 20 
Spanish War Claims, Court of, 84 
Speaker, The, 24, 34, 35 
Speech, Free, 104 
Stamp Act, 10 
State Officers, 102 
States, Powers denied the, 63 
States, Powers reserved to the, 112 
State, Secretary of, 72, 75 
States, United, 45 
Stations, Agriculture, 44 
Sugar, 24 

Sumner, Charles, 35 
Subpoena, 110 


XIV 


INDEX 


Supreme Court, 43, 58, 63, 64, 71, 
75, 83, 84, 87-89, 101 
Swayne, Charles, 26 

Tariff, 35 
Tariff Bills, 39 
Tax, Capitation, 60 
Tax, Export, 64 
Tax, Income, 43, 120 
Tax, Poll, 60 
Taxes, 23, 39, 44, 45 
Taxes, State, 126 
Taylor, Zachary, 72, 74 
Telegraph, 50 
Telephone, 50 
Territories, 96 

Territories, Government of, 97 
Tilden, Samuel J., 70 
Titles of Nobility, 62, 63 
Tonnage, Duty of, 65 
Trade, Free, 61 
Transportation, Inland, 76 
Treason, 37, 60, 90-92, 94 
Treasury Department, 62 
Treasury, Secretary of the, 72, 75 
Treaties, 78 

Treaty-Making Power, 63 
Treaty, Jay’s, 45 
Trial Jury, 89, 111 
Trinidad, 51 
Tyler, John, 72 
Tyranny, 66 

United States, 45, 46 


United States Bank, 42, 87 
Utah, 97 

Van Buren, Martin, 70, 80 
Vermont, 95 
Veto, 8 

Veto, Pocket, 41 
Vice-President, 29, 66, 68 
Virginia, 8, 22, 56 
Volunteers, 53 
Voter, 21 

War, Articles of, 54 

War, Civil, The, 53, 59, 77, 80 

War, Declaring, 20, 51 

War of 1812, 20, 52, 55, 59, 91, 98 

War, Secretary of, 72, 75 

Washington, George, 68, 69 

Washington, D. C., 56 

Ways and Means Committee, 39 

Webster-Ashburton Treaty, 36 

Webster, Daniel, 64 

Weather Bureau, 44, 76 

Weights and Measures, 48 

West Indies, 51 

Whiskey Rebellion, 55 

Whitney, Eli, 50 

Wilmot Proviso, 27 

Wilson Tariff Bill, 39, 41, 43 

Witnesses, Protection of, 108 

Wyoming Valley, 14 

Yellowstone Park, 97 
Yorktown, 13 


INDEX FOR GOVERNMENT OF ILLINOIS 


Appellate Courts, 174 
Assessor, 130 
Attorney-General, 164 
Attorney, State, 148 
Auditor, 162 

Base Line, 135 

Board of Highway Commissioners, 
131 

Board of Review, 145 
Board of Supervisors, 140 

Circuit Court, 172 
City Government, 137-139 
Clerk, County, 142 
Committees, 140 
Coroner, 149 

County Government, 139-154 
County Judge, 147 
County Offices, 142 
County Organization, 152 

Duties of a Judge, 150 

Education of the Blind, 168 
Education of Deaf and Dumb, 167 
Elections, 152 

Executive Department, 159-164 

Farmer’s Institute, 166 
Feeble-Minded Children, 168 

Governor, 160 
Governor’s Message, 160 


Grand Jury, 149 

Growth of Government, 125 

Home for Delinquent Boys, 170 
Home for Juvenile Female Of¬ 
fenders, 170 

Hospitals for the Insane, 167 
House of Representatives, 158 

Insane, Care of, 152 

Judges and Clerks, 153 
Judicial Department, 171-173 
Jury Trial, 173 
Justice of the Peace, 131 

Kinds of Government, 125 

Legislative Department, 156-168 
Lieutenant-Governor, 162 

Master in Chancery, 173 
Minority Representative, 158 

Normal Schools, 165 

Penitentiaries, 169 
Petit Jury, 150 
Poor, Care of, 151 
Powers and Duties, 141 
Principal Meridian, 134 
Probate Clerk, 148 
Probate Judge, 147 
Purpose of Government, 123-125 
xv 


XVI 


INDEX 


Ranges, 134 
Recorder of Deeds, 146 
Reformatory, 169 

School Government, 127-129 
Selecting a Jury, 173 
Secretary of State, 162 
Senate, 157 
Sheriff, 143 

State and Nation, 126 
State Boards, 170 
State Government, 154 
State Institutions, 165-170 
Superintendent of Public Instruc¬ 
tion, 164 

Superintendent of Schools, 146 
Supervisor, 129 


Supreme Courts, 175 
Surveyor, 145 

Town Clerk, 129 
Town Collector, 130 
Town Government, 129-133 
Town Meeting, 132 
Township, 133-137 
Treasurer, County, 144 
Treasurer, State, 165 

University of Illinois, 165 

Voters, 153 

Work of the Courts, 171 


























SEP 30 1913 















































































































































































































































‘ 



































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































